03-10-2019, 13:35
And so, having equalled the record nine-game unbeaten start to a season recorded by their predecessors in both 1953 and 1999, Albion couldn't quite strike out into uncharted territory at Elland Road; but it wasn't for lack of trying. In a complete reverse of the situation twelve months ago, we've gone from being a team with two great forwards and not much else, to a team with everything else except two great forwards. It's much too early to say whether the end result of this will be the same, but at the very least, logic suggests that a jigsaw missing two pieces is a lot easier to complete than a jigsaw missing nine.
That said, until those pieces turn up, we've got to carry on stringing together results as best we can. Having spent a large part of last autumn grumbling over uninspired performances and sighing relief that Barnes and Gayle had dug us out of one hole or another, this autumn could potentially have a few more nights like Tuesday: delight at the kind of performance we haven't seen in years, coupled with frustration that the lack of a cutting edge left us without a reward for it. Certainly, before the international break distracts us all again, we've got at least one more tricky hurdle to clear on Saturday as relegated Cardiff visit the Hawthorns.
It's been an iffy start to the campaign for the Bluebirds, who've been strong at home but remain winless on the road coming into this weekend. Any hope we might take from that is countered somewhat by the sheer wobbliness of Albion's own recent fortunes against Cardiff. Amongst the many memorable miseries inflicted on us by the Welshmen on home soil alone is that League Cup win in September 2007 when Robbie Fowler had them 4-0 up inside half an hour, a hapless 2-0 defeat on a freezing night in December 2009, and the last-second equaliser in a 3-3 draw in 2014, which resulted in James Morrison punching Saido Berahino in the face. (Not enough times, frankly). In the meantime we managed a 4-2 victory in the FA Cup in January 2012 - a closer game than the final score suggested - and a whole string of hard-fought draws; in fact, you have to go back to February 2007 for the last Baggies league win against City, courtesy of a top-corner strike from "Duke" Ellington. That's a lot of rough going in a fixture which has often been played in a quasi-derby atmosphere.
More of the same on Saturday? Well, I doubt they'll make it easy for us, and we probably won't make it easy for ourselves either. But if we can bounce back from Tuesday and just find that killer pass in and around the box, we could be going into the break with some serious momentum behind us...