West Brom end Birmingham Cup dream after Victor Anichebe’s strikes
Birmingham 1 - 2 West BromJonathan Grounds 45 +0:18
Victor Anichebe 25
Victor Anichebe 35
Victor Anichebe scores the second goal for West Brom against Birmingham in the FA Cup at St Andrew's. Photograph: Alan Walter/Action Images
The FA Cup triumph of 1968 was the last time West Bromwich Albion won a major trophy, but judging by the strength of the side he put out, Tony Pulis is going to have a serious crack at ending that 47-year drought in his first few months in charge at The Hawthorns.
The more so now, surely, given results elsewhere appear to have left the famous old competition wide open, though the Baggies’ manager was characteristically guarded after his team was made to work far harder than had looked likely to be the case after two well-taken goals from Victor Anichebe had given them what looked to be a comfortable cushion.
Instead, Jonathan Grounds pulled a goal back for City just before the break, and the second half turned into a battle Pulis was relieved to survive.
“In any Cup you need a little bit of luck, and I’m less concerned with who has got knocked out than in getting a home draw in the fifth round,” said Pulis.
“We were very good in the first half and deserved to be two up, but Birmingham’s goal gave them a lift and you have to give them credit, they came hard out of the blocks in the second half and we had to show a different side, be resilient.”
What remains of the transfer window, he said, would be “massive” for Albion in terms of their prospects of staying in the Premier League, though also of further progress in the Cup.
“There are weaknesses in our team, it’s unbalanced and we have to put certain things in place,” said Pulis. Another goal-scorer is a priority, with former Newcastle forward Shola Ameobi and Wigan’s attacking midfielder Callum McManaman the club’s primary targets, though the performance of Anichebe suggested the former Everton centre-forward could give Pulis a serious option going forward.
“I don’t think anyone has ever questioned Victor’s ability, the big thing is getting him fit, he’s nowhere near that at the moment,”said Pulis.
Both Anichebe’s goals were created by Saido Berahino, the first with a ball slipped into the penalty area for Anichebe to run on to, with the subsequent left footed shot beating Darren Randolph, the City goalkeeper, at his near post, the second when Anichebe took his pass, held off the challenge of Paul Robinson, and beat Randolph to his left.
City badly needed a reply before half-time, and though Grounds may have been expecting a cross from Lloyd Dyer rather than the low pull-back, the right-back demonstrated a sweet touch by guiding the ball beyond Albion goalkeeper Myhill from around 12 yards.
City manager Gary Rowett saw his side press hard but though the sought-after young winger Demerai Gray twice went close after coming on as a substitute, Albion held on.
“We showed them a bit too much respect in the first-half, they suckered us into two counter-attacks. That was my biggest disappointment, but the goal changed the course of the game and the second-half performance was as good as we’ve played all season. We couldn’t really have done a lot more,” said Rowett.
Guardian
