Getting back to the big time *Not a great day at the office AGAIN!*

[thesweepmaster]

Vs.

Late Benjani strike enough for Baggies to steal all 3 points

In a game that was eagerly anticipated due to the war of the words between both James Haywood and Billy Davies that preceded, a late strike from Benjani was enough for the Baggies to snatch a 1-0 victory against Nottingham Forest in a thoroughly entertaining game.

Throughout the first half, both sides peppered the goalkeepers many times without break the deadlock. Albion?s best chance came from Benjani who raced onto a through ball from Cox only for Lee Camp to tip his 8 yard effort wide. At the other end, Scott Carson was forced into a good save thanks to Anderson?s towering header on the edge of the six yard box.

In the second half, Forest began to turn the screw as Blackstock was thwarted three times by Scott Carson in what can only be deemed as a superb afternoon for the former England goalkeeper. In the 84th minute however, Carson was beaten as Tyson?s rocket of a shot from 25 yards out cannoned off the crossbar and Olsson cleared. With five minutes to go, it looked like it would be 1 point apiece but Benjani changed all of that on the 87th minute by smashing the ball past a helpless Lee Camp from a Barazite?s free kick to give Albion all three points.

After the game, James Haywood said he was proud of the commitment of his Baggies players to stick to the end of the game and even commented on a possible new signing. ?As I did say after the Leyton Orient game, we would be looking for possibly one or two more players to add to the squad. I do know that we have had an offer accepted for a promising young English goalkeeper from the lower leagues but the identity of this player will remain a secret?.

Carson kept Albion in it before Benjani's strike​

Nottingham Forest 0-1 West Brom
Benjani
Teams:
Nottingham Forest: Camp, Wilson, Gunter, Morgan, Dods, Anderson (Moussi), Cohen, Majewski (McGuigan), McKenna, Adebola (Tyson), Blackstock Unused subs: Smith, McGoldrick, Chambers, BarronWest Brom: Carson, Zuiverloon, Cech, Olsson, Jara, Texeira, Brunt (Thomas), Dorrans, Koren (Barazite), Cox (Wood), Benjani Unused Subs: Kiely, Meite, Mulumbu, Morrison

Barnsley 0-1 Coventry
Blackpool 2-2 Cardiff
Bristol City 0-1 Crystal Palace
Doncaster 2-0 Preston
Ipswich 4-1 Leicester
Newcastle 0-0 Reading
Peterborough 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Plymouth 4-0 QPR
Scunthorpe 2-3 Derby
Sheffield United 3-2 Watford
Swansea 0-2 Middlesbrough

 

[ARay]

Looks like the Benjani gamble is paying off
Keep an eye on his fatigue level nevertheless.
You might need him for crunch matches completely fit!

 

[thesweepmaster]

Vs.

Ten man Peterborough hold on against poor Baggies

After two fantastic displays against Newcastle and Nottingham Forest, a second string Albion succumbed to their defeat of the season against 10 men Peterborough. Bednar getting the goal for the Baggies with Diagouraga and McLean scoring for Peterborough as Pearce was sent off late.

Several changes were made by Baggies boss James Haywood due to fatigue after 3 tough games so far and his changes looked like a wise decision as Albion deservedly took the lead in the 21 minute thanks to the returning Roman Bednar heading the ball home from 6 yards off a Zuiverloon cross. However, the lead only lasted 10 minutes as Diagouraga hit a stunning volley from 8 yards into the roof of the net to make it 1-1.

In the second half, Peterborough started brightly as substitute McLean and Boyd forced Carson to make some good saves. However, on the 53rd minute, Carson was beaten thanks to a terrific header from McLean from 10 yards off a Diagouraga cross. Albion then pushed for the equaliser and was given a helping hand Pearce was sent off for a rash tackle on Bednar in the 74th minute. However, they never capitalised and Peterborough held on to take all 3 points.

Defeat means it the first loss for Baggies boss James Haywood whilst in charge and it will be interesting how he will pick up his players for the next game. Plus, the added news that there will be a new signing coming in before Saturday?s game against Ipswich.

Aaron McLean celebrates​

Teams:
Peterborough: Lewis, Keogh (Morgan), Lee, Pearce, Zakuani, Stanislas, Rowe, Grant (Keates), Diagouraga, Boyd, Laurent (McLean) Unused Subs: McKeown, Coutts, Frecklington, BattWest Brom: Carson, Zuiverloon, Cech, Meite, Jara, Morrison, Thomas, Mulumbu (Benjani), Barazite, Bednar, Wood Unused Subs: Kiely, Olsson, Koren, Texeira, Brunt, Cox

Peterborough 2-1 West Brom
Diagouraga, McLean
Bednar

Barnsley 0-1 Preston
Blackpool 1-0 Derby
Bristol City 0-1 QPR
Doncaster 1-1 Coventry
Ipswich 2-1 Crystal Palace
Nottingham Forest 4-1 Watford
Plymouth 2-4 Cardiff
Scunthorpe 3-1 Middlesbrough
Sheffield United 4-1 Leicester
Swansea 1-1 Reading

 

[thesweepmaster]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ipswich game will be up tomorrow!

 

[JBlues08]

Not a bad start to the season despite the loss. At least, the Baggies are near the top. And it is rather strange to see Newcastle languishing in 22nd.

 

[ARay]

Ohh so you decide to get a fresh face then
Planning on playing him anytime soon?

 

[thesweepmaster]

Vs.

Olsson strikes as Albion take all three points

After a surprising defeat to lowly Peterborough, West Bromwich Albion got back to win ways at The Hawthorns with a nervy 1-0 win over Ipswich Town. Jonas Olsson?s first half header was enough to send the Baggies to 3rd in the Championship.

Albion started the brightest as Bednar and Benjani all came close in the opening minutes but Ipswich had a great chance to go 1-0 up however Grant Leadbitter shot over from 20 yards with Scott Carson stranded. Albion then caught Ipswich on counter as the ball fell to Chris Brunt inside the penalty area but he hit the post and McAuley put it behind. However from Texeira?s resulting corner, Jonas Olsson towering header on the back post put Albion 1-0 ahead.

Albion could have gone 2-0 up early in the second half, but Texeira?s header cannoned off the crossbar with Richard Wright completely beaten. With the end of the game approaching, Ipswich went for broke and had a string of chance with the best falling to Walters who fired wide. Albion though should their resiliency and held on to take all three points.

After the game, James Haywood spoke of how proud he was of his players ?The boys keep on battling even when they are under constant pressure, today and the 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest showed that?. Albion did have new signing Alex Smithies on the bench but with Carson in fine form, he may have to wait for awhile to get his chance to play for West Brom.

Olsson celebrates​

Teams:
West Brom: Carson, Zuiverloon, Cech, Olsson, Jara, Texeira, Brunt, Dorrans (Meite), Koren, Bednar (Cox), Benjani (Mulumbu) Unused Subs: Smithies, Barazite, Morrison, Thomas
Ipswich: Wright, Rosenior, Delaney, Bruce, McAuley (Balkestein), Edwards (Ainsley), Namouchi, Leadbitter, Garvan, Priskin (Walters), Stead Unused Subs: Murdoch, Healy, Colback, Smith

West Brom 1-0 Ipswich
Olsson

Other results:
Cardiff 1-3 Bristol City
Coventry 1-2 Swansea
Crystal Palace 1-1 Newcastle
Derby 0-0 Plymouth
Leicester 2-1 Barnsley
Middlesbrough 1-1 Doncaster
Preston 0-0 Peterborough
QPR 2-0 Nottingham Forest
Reading 0-1 Sheffield United
Sheffield Wednesday 0-1 Scunthorpe
Watford 2-0 Blackpool
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Cheers for the comments guys, Newcastle have had a poor start admittantly but they had only played 2 games when the rest had played 3, they won their next game and I think they are 14th at the moment. As for Smithies, if Carson continues the way he has performed then as I say in my interview he'll have to wait a bit.

 

[hedger_14]

Good to see The Eagles draw Newcastle. Good win for West Brom as well. You needed to beat Ipswich.

 

[thesweepmaster]

Vs.

Baggies hammer seven past lowly Lincoln​

West Brom confirmed that they wanted to go as far as they can in the League Cup by battering League 2 Lincoln by 7-1 at The Hawthorns. Goals from Benjani, Brunt, Bednar, Koren and Texeira all helped West Brom go through to the 3rd round.

The scoring started on the 18th minute when Benjani slipped past his marker and placed it in the bottom corner. 5 minutes later, Brunt nodded a free header in the back of the net from 6 yards. On the 29th minute it was 3-0 when unfortunate goalkeeper Hughes punched a corner into his own net. 3 minutes later, number 4 went in as Roman Bednar ran straight through the Lincoln to slot it home from 12 yards. On the 35th minute, Koren made it 5-0 with the goal of night by smashing the ball into the top corner from all of 35 yards. On the stroke of half time, number 6 went in as Texeira curled a free kick in for 20 yards. 6-0 at Half Time and Lincoln just wanted the game to end.

Just a minute into the second half, Benjani got his second and Albion?s seventh of the night by heading in a Chris Brunt cross from 6 yards. It could have been 8 if Korens spectacular 25 yard shot hadn?t hit the post. Lincoln did get a goal back on the 60th minute when Howe managed to get free in the box to head home a corner. Late on, Benjani had 2 goals disallowed; both for being offside but the scoring had finished for the night as Albion came out 7-1 victors.
​

Koren hit the pick of the goals​

West Brom 7-1 Lincoln
Benjani 2, Brunt, Hughes O.G, Bednar, Koren, Texeira
Howe

Teams:
West Brom: Carson, Zuiverloon, Cech (Cox), Olsson, Jara, Texeira (Reid), Brunt (Thomas), Dorrans, Koren, Bednar, Benjani Unused Subs: Kiely, Meite, Mulumbu, Morrison
Lincoln: Hughes, Hughton, Heath, Kovacs, Swaibu (Hone), Zaaboub, Brown (Carey), Clarke, Kerr, Fagan (Clarke), Howe Unused Subs: Martin, Coleman-Carr, Thomas, Miller

 

[ARay]

Benjani is in top form!

 

[thesweepmaster]

VS.

Blades and Baggies in stalemate

In what was an eagerly anticipated game since the fixtures were released in early July, Sheffield United and West Brom sadly didn?t live up to expectation after a dull and boring 0-0 draw at Bramall Lane.

After 1 minute, Harper for Sheffield United hit the crossbar from all of 20 yards. If that had gone in it would have certainly been a different game. There were very few chances as both sides managed to tightly mark each other with only Robert Koren shot from 25 yards out that forced Bunn, in the Sheffield United goal, to tip over getting people out of their seats.

In the second half, it was more of the same with both sides trying to catch each other out on the counter. Simon Cox did have the best chance Albion as Benjani slipped a lovely through ball for him to race onto, only to slot the ball wide in a 1-on-1 situation. Gary Speed had the best chance for Sheffield United, but his free kick went tamely wide. Both sides shared the points and on fair reflection neither side deserved to win.

Bunn making a good punch​

Sheffield United 0-0 West Brom

Teams:
Sheffield United: Bunn, Walker, Naylor, Kilgallon, Morgan, Little, Caffa (Speed), Harper, Montgomery, Evans, Henderson Unused subs: Bennett, Cotterill, Fadiga, Ward, Fortune, Quinn
West Brom: Carson, Zuiverloon, Cech, Olsson, Jara, Texeira, Brunt, Koren, Barazite, Cox (Bednar), Benjani Unused subs: Smithies, Meite, Mulumbu, Dorrans, Thomas, Morrison

Other results:
Barnsley 0-1 Reading
Blackpool 0-1 Coventry
Bristol City 2-2 Middlesbrough
Doncaster 3-3 Cardiff
Ipswich 2-1 Preston
Nottingham Forest 1-1 Derby
Plymouth 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Scunthorpe 1-1 QPR
Swansea 1-0 Watford
(Next day?s games)
Newcastle vs. Leicester
Peterborough vs. Crystal Palace

 

[thesweepmaster]

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Btw I have just noticed there are a couple of errors in it but it was a bit rushed tbh!

 

[Ollie_H]

Good update, and a new interesting idea! One where you get to add your own words in,
'James Haywood was struck with massive...' If we were on blankety blank, my fill in would be a massive 'flying duck!'

 

[thesweepmaster]

VS.

Cech stunner sends Albion second
West Bromwich Albion sent themselves to second place in the table thanks to a tense 1-0 win against Plymouth at the Hawthorns. Marek Cech?s 40 yard lob in the second half, gave the Baggies all 3 points.

The first half was relatively quiet as Albion had most of the possession but mainly in the middle of the park. Benjani was virtually marked out of the game and had to result shooting from distance with his closest shot coming 5 yards wide of the post. Plymouth didn?t even have a chance at all, so Alex Smithies in the Baggies had a nice start to life being an Albion goalkeeper.

The second half was more of the same with both sides being reduced to shots from distance. Plymouth though did have a good chance to score as Rory Fallon, who came on as a sub, had a shot saved by Smithies from 20 yards out. It had to be noted that this was his only save on his debut. The game seemed to be petering out to a goalless draw when suddenly Cech saw keeper Larrieu off his line and chipped the ball over his head from 40 yards to put the Baggies in front and to give them all three points.

Marek Cech celebrates with Roman Bednar​

West Brom 1-0 Plymouth
Cech

Teams:
West Brom: Smithies, Zuiverloon, Cech, Olsson, Jara (Morrison), Texeira, Brunt, Koren (Bednar), Dorrans, Benjani (Wood), Cox Unused Subs: Kiely, Meite, Mulumbu, Thomas
Plymouth: Larrieu, Seip, Timar, Murray (Sawyer), Van Zanten (Brett), Perrier-Doumbe, Amason, Fletcher, Blake (Fallon), Judge, Sheridan Unused subs: Devine, Johnson, Gow, McCroy

Other Results: Coventry 3-1 Bristol City, Crystal 1-1 Scunthorpe, Derby 3-0 Sheffield United, Leicester 1-2 Blackpool, Middlesbrough 1-0 Ipswich, Preston 3-2 Swansea, QPR 3-1 Peterborough, Reading 1-2 Doncaster, Sheffield Wednesday 0-1 Nottingham Forest, Watford 2-1 Barnsley

thesweepmaster added 0 Minutes and 54 Seconds later...

Good update, and a new interesting idea! One where you get to add your own words in,
'James Haywood was struck with massive...' If we were on blankety blank, my fill in would be a massive 'flying duck!'

Haha, I especially left that open for someone to make a joke... Honest!

 

[ARay]

Looks like you are going more ahead of my expectations
Its going to be interesting to see how you mange to solidify your lead over others during the season.