Premier League: Blackpool v West Brom full time report
Blackpool 2 West Brom 1
Blackpool earned a first top flight victory at their Bloomfield Road home for 39 years, as a brave West Brom went down to nine men in the first half an hour.
Baggies defender Pablo Ibanez received a straight red card for blocking off DJ Campbell in the penalty area in the game’s early stages, and after Charlie Adam had scored the resultant spot kick, Gonzalo Jara became the second West Brom player to be dismissed following a wild lunge on Luke Varney.
The hosts struggled to make their advantage tell until Varney slid in to convert a low Elliot Grandin cross, but still a depleted West Brom battled hard, and Youssuf Mulumbu halved the deficit for the nine men late on.
Both Paul Scharner and Steven Reid then came close to stealing an unlikely point for the spirited Baggies in the game’s closing stages.
This match between two attacking sides who have impressed many since both earned promotion to the Premier League last season had an attractive look about it, and it got underway in wet and windy conditions on the North West coast. It was soon to spring to life too.
West Brom forward Simon Cox – on his first Premier League start – tested home ‘keeper Matt Gilks from distance, before Blackpool sprang forward, and Adam’s ball looked for Campbell, who was blocked off by Ibanez as he entered the penalty area. Referee Michael Oliver, just 25 years old, immediately pointed to the spot, before somewhat harshly dismissing Albion’s Spanish defender, who admittedly was the last man. Adam squeezed the penalty under the body of Scott Carson – only 12 minutes had been played.
Settled by the goal, Blackpool were using their one man advantage well, keeping the ball and forcing West Brom to chase shadows, before an uncharacteristic error from goalkeeper Gilks almost gifted Albion’s Scharner a goal. The Austrian’s attempted overhead kick could only brush against the outside of the post with Gilks having tumbled off the pitch.
Despite that effort, West Brom were struggling, and if they thought things were difficult with 10 men, they were about to get a whole lot tougher – and this time it was all their own doing.
Varney had kept the ball in on Blackpool’s left flank, before Chilean international Jara needlessly launched into a rash two-footed challenge. Unlike the mindless Jara, Oliver had no choice, and the Baggies were down to nine before the half hour mark.
An almighty scramble in the West Brom goal almost resulted in Gary Taylor-Fletcher then doubling the lead, as Blackpool began to get used to facing two men less. West Brom boss Roberto Di Matteo replaced Marc-Antoine Fortuné with midfielder Graham Dorrans, ensuring that the Baggies now had no recognised striker on the field.
Campbell should have done better when he flicked a Varney cross over, but remarkably it was the nine men of West Brom who were playing the better football, with Dorrans causing trouble and twice going close before the break, as the rain lashed down at the soaking wet seaside resort.
Half time arrived at the wrong time for the depleted Baggies, and sure enough it was Blackpool who started the second period on top, with Adam in particular to the fore.
Complacency was becoming a problem for the hosts though, and after Dorrans put in a fierce challenge on Tangerines defender Ian Evatt, West Brom’s Jerome Thomas drove at the defence and saw his effort deflected wide off Craig Cathcart.
Back at the other end, Varney headed David Vaughan’s cross straight at Carson, but Blackpool looked agitated, and were desperate for a second goal to settle them. Adam drove over amid mounting frustrations, but they were soon to be lifted.
A clever touch from Vaughan saw the ball reach Elliot Grandin, and the Frenchman’s low centre was buried by a sliding Varney to double the lead and ensure mass relief all around Bloomfield Road.
As Blackpool chased a third, Campbell’s looping header was tipped over by Carson, Grandin drove high and wide and Vaughan fired over, before West Brom astonishingly got themselves back into the match with just six minutes left.
The chance appeared to have gone after Gilks foiled a quick Giles Barnes break, but Reid’s header found Mulumbu, who expertly finished into the bottom corner after a strong run. Was a remarkable comeback on?
Nearly. Scharner’s low header from a Chris Brunt free kick went narrowly wide, and Reid drove over, but as a remarkable match ended in dramatic fashion, Blackpool’s Grandin and Campbell were denied by excellent saves from Carson.
Relief was the overriding emotion at the full time whistle, as the hosts held on. Credit must go to West Brom though, who were so committed against all the odds.
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