ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE West Brom 1 Wolves 1:TIMING IS all. Wolves contested a derby and, as the away team, took a point that means they are no further behind West Bromwich – and safety – even if Mick McCarthy's side are still bottom of the table.
It may take quite a while before the fixture is recalled in those terms. There is a need to disentangle all of the emotions that follow Albion’s equaliser in the second minute of stoppage time. The substitute Carlos Vela, on loan from Arsenal, took his first goal for the club.
In a nerve-racked fixture it is natural that hands should tremble, and not only among the spectators. The goalkeepers were level on errors at one apiece, as each conceded when they would normally have been counted upon to deal with the shots.
Perhaps such agitation is to be expected when there is so much at stake. West Bromwich’s new manager, Roy Hodgson, might have anticipated a victory to establish a bond with the crowd, but a revival to share the points still sent those fans home far happier than they might have been.
The result is supposed to be all that matters, but the sequence of events has its own impact. It is, for instance, all but forgotten that Wolves outdid their opponents for much of the game. The leveller came as an effort by James Morrison was neither held nor beaten away by the Wolves goalkeeper, Wayne Hennessey. Instead the drive came off his leg and Vela snapped up the opportunity.
The aim, all the same, is to rise above the limitations. It appeared for a fairly long time that Wolves had found a superior version of themselves to the one that has made their followers so apprehensive.
West Bromwich have a fine scoring record at The Hawthorns, yet they almost drew a blank because it took so long for them to pin Wolves down. The visitors’ goal, six minutes before the interval, was well-struck, yet as saveable as Vela’s would be.
Nenad Milijas rolled a free-kick and, from some 20 yards, Jamie O’Hara sent a drive high into the net as he opened his account for the club following a loan move from Tottenham late in the January transfer window.
Boaz Myhill’s response in the West Brom goal had, all the same, been poor and he ought to have reached the attempt. Perhaps it was to be expected that flaws would be important contributors to a derby match that had even more at stake than local pride.
The lower reaches of the table ought to be relished by everyone other than the fans, players and managers who are trapped there.
Man of the match Jamie O’Hara used all of the experience that he has gathered in a varied career with Spurs – and on loan at Portsmouth – as he helped tilt the balance in favour of the visitors
Guardian Service
