POOR away form has hampered West Bromwich Albion in the Barclays Premiership this season and their vulnerability on their travels took a turn for the worse at the Madejski Stadium last night. Though 2-0 ahead at half-time, Albion contrived to lose their FA Cup third-round replay against Reading.
Defeat against Reading is no disgrace. They do lead the Coca-Cola Championship by nine points, after all, and look a shoo-in to play in the Premiership next season. Whether Albion are there to greet them is another matter after they succumbed meekly to a hat-trick from Leroy Lita, the England Under-21 striker.
What will concern Bryan Robson, the Albion manager, is the tame manner in which his side crumbled from a position of strength. Missing a money-spinning derby in the fourth round — Reading will take on Birmingham City at home — will not have pleased the Albion board, either.
The battle against relegation is now Robson’s sole worry. “It’s disappointing to go out of any competition,” he said. “If you get a good run going, it can breed confidence. But now we know exactly where we are and what we’ve got to do for the rest of the season. Nothing else can get in the way, that’s our only consolation.”
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Steve Coppell, the Reading manager, preferred to look forward to the league match against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Friday night. “It’s nice to win but it wouldn’t have been the end of the world if we’d been knocked out,” he said. “Leroy is so explosive and can do things like that, but he’s spent a lot of time out injured this season. I’m not thinking of Birmingham. Let’s get Palace out the way first.”
Neither Coppell nor Robson appeared to place much store in remaining in the competition. Both managers fielded what amounted to five-a-side teams of regular starters — the rest made up of fringe players and youngsters — in a virtual rerun of the first match at The Hawthorns, which finished 1-1. All of which contributed to a muted atmosphere for much of a scrappy first half, which Reading dominated but failed to capitalise on.
Albion defended strongly and barely threatened when going forward, yet they did show a cutting edge when the opportunities presented themselves and managed to eke out a 2-0 half-time advantage.
After nine minutes, Graeme Murty, the right back, allowed Richard Chaplow too much space and the former Burnley midfield player scored his first goal for the club with a low left-foot drive. Just past the half-hour, slack marking again cost Reading. This time, it was Chris Makin who failed to mark tightly, with Graham Stack able only to parry Nathan Ellington’s fierce volley and Chaplow forcing in the loose ball.
But Albion disintegrated after the interval. Lita scored his first with a swift turn and shot in the fiftieth minute, then equalised in the 65th minute with a delightful effort. Harper played the ball in to Lita and, spotting Chris Kirkland off his line, he guided the ball over him with the most delicate of first-time lobs.
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Lita crashed home the winner three minutes into extra time, taking advantage of further confusion in the Albion area, but was booked by Paul Taylor, the referee, for removing his shirt during his wild celebrations. “It was just pent-up emotion,” Coppell said. “He’s spent a lot of time in the treatment-room.”
READING (4-4-2): G Stack — G Murty, B Gunnarsson, I Ingimarsson, C Makin — J Oster (sub: C Osano, 108min), S Sidwell, J Harper, S Hunt — S Long (sub: K Doyle, 90), L Lita (sub: S Cox, 101). Substitutes not used: M Hahnemann, G Little, . Booked: Long, Lita.
WEST BROMWICH ALBION (4-4-2): C Kirkland — J Hodgkiss, C Davies, M Albrechtsen, D Carter — J Greening (sub: L Dyer, 81), J Inamoto (sub: R Davies, 91), R Wallwork (sub: S Nicholson, 107), R Chaplow — R Earnshaw, N Ellington. Substitutes not used: R Elvins, T Kuszczak. Booked: Inamoto.
Referee: P Taylor.