I will use two-man defence again, vows West Brom boss
Mar 24 2009 by Robert Tanner, Birmingham Post
To some, Tony Mowbray’s two-man defence may have reeked of desperation or a last throw of the dice from a desperate manager, but the West Bromwich Albion boss has vowed to utilise it again as Albion cling to their fading hopes of surviving in the Premier League.
After Matt Taylor had put Bolton Wanderers in front with just over 25 minutes remaining in what Albion had targeted as a must-win game at The Hawthorns on Saturday, Mowbray went for broke, withdrawing full-backs Gianni Zuiverloon and Paul Robinson and throwing on the attacking intent of Borja Valero and Graham Dorrans.
That left just centre backs Shelton Martis and Jonas Olsson as Albion’s rearguard but the daring move almost paid off as Robert Koren’s deflected shot pulled them level and, although they were almost caught out when keeper Scott Carson pulled off a great save to deny Taylor again, Albion almost snatched the vital victory when Roman Bednar headed just over the bar as the hosts mounted relentless late pressure.
Now Mowbray has promised he would use the tactic again as Albion move into the final stage of the season knowing they must now win all their remaining four home games and pick up results on the road.
“I have played it many times I think,” Mowbray said of his two-man defence. “It was needs must really.
“Sometimes you have to win football matches and in our predicament we needed the three points. It was worth taking those gambles, to try and get the three points.
“You do it for the benefit of the team sometimes. You sacrifice players for the team to try and win a game. If we had scored late on it would have paid off.
“It felt like there was a hundred crosses going into their box in the last ten minutes or so and if we had got on the end of one of those then it would have been a great result for the players and the supporters, who stuck together at the death there.”
After the disappointment of Saturday’s stalemate against Gary Megson’s men, their task now looks increasingly difficult but Mowbray said no one within the camp was prepared to throw in the towel, even if confidence had been dented.
“It is my job to pick them up every week,” he said.
“There is disappointment from a game where we think we have done so well and probably deserved to get the points but, for whatever reason, whether it was a defensive error or missed opportunities, we haven’t.
“It can puncture the bubble of self-confidence or belief. My job is to build them back up for the next game.
“Look at the disappointments we have had and yet we didn’t look a side short on confidence in the first 20 minutes. We looked a team that believes in the way we play and yet to get that punctured again by another goal it is deja vu, here we go again, and yet they kept going, and it is a credit to the players that they can keep going in the face of the adversity.
“The supporters should be mentioned as well. The fact that when we went a goal down, the stadium could have collapsed and gone against the team and yet they didn’t and the team gave them something to cheer about.
“We showed belief and kept going, and ultimately we almost go there with a winner at the death, but it wasn’t quite to be.”
Albion’s away clash against Manchester City has been moved to Sunday, April 19, due to City’s Uefa Cup quarter final the preceding week. Kick-off is 3pm.
