Defeat Eventually

This blog has really been Albion's lucky omen as, from the moment Carlos Vela equalised against Wolves, our unbeaten run has gone on and on. Eventually it had to come to an end but for this to finally happen on the 39 point mark with 5 games to go is a tribute to the management of Roy Hodgson and the commitment shown by the players. You probably have also got to give a little credit to chairman, Jeremy Peace who made a brave decision to sack Roberto di Matteo, which while widely decried in some quarters, has seemingly paid off with impending survival.


The unbeaten run finally came to end at the unsurprising hands of Chelsea who had far too much class for an Albion team that lacked the recent intensity shown to grind out a lot of positive results. The multi millionaire pound Londoners were really on a different level from the Baggies and after quickly replying to Odemwinge's impressive opener, there was only going to be one winner. The eventual final scoreline of 3-1 could have been a lot worse if Chelsea had have been more clinical in the second half but while this Albion team were off the pace, their recent form did not warrant a good beating.


The main positive from the match was an energetic performance by Yousef Mulumbu, who eclipsed goalscorer, Odemwinge with a never say die effort. Unfortunately the defeat was contributed to by a few defensive errors, an element of the game that Hodgson had worked hard to eliminate. Shorey was guilty of one bad mistake and Carson had an afternoon that leads to a divided opinion amongst the fans, with some quality saves residing alongside more questionable efforts.


With Wolves currently on a downer, West Ham conceding a last minute winner to Villa and Blackpool tumbling quicker than a seaside helter skelter, 39 points might be enough to stay up. However there is no evidence of complacency within the club and all focus is on securing a couple more points to put the icing on survival.