West Brom ease three points away from City grasp with a single goal victory, as the Tigers recent form continues to evaporate in the midst of poor individual performances.

Plucky Premiership strugglers could be a description given to West Brom over recent seasons.  Never really a side to cause too many problems when watching match highlights on Match of the Day.  However, as seen after the first match of the season, a few years in top flight has seen some of their fans develop a level of arrogance.  Following the first match of the season, comments in The Observer stated that City really were a team who will be relegated at the end of the season, with them going the other way.  Let us not forget that if it wasn't for a poor ref missing Inamoto hauling Welsh down in the goal area before they broke up the other end to score their second, then we may have left the Midlands that day with a point.  Admittedly this early prediction may be ringing true, but is hardly a fair comment to have been made after the first match of the season.

Entering the field for the Tigers against the Baggies, City line up with:

Myhill
Ricketts  Turner  Delaney  Dawson
Marney  Ashbee  Livermore
Windass  Parkin  Forster

The teams running onto the pitch were met by a group of young girls, announced as the "News of the World Score Angels".  This pre-pubescent troupe reminded me of the early 90s when Sky had their Sky Strikers, to which City (and many other clubs) tried something similar, but couldn't afford to bring in much more than girls from the local school.  I do feel this really is unnecessary, as was their Peppermint Hippo-esque (as I believe the gentleman's club is called) posturing.

Early stages of the match did sum up much of the half's action.  West Brom looked much stronger and tidy in midfield, whereas it was City who was creating the better opportunities.  Early on, Forster gains possession in the West Brom half, with a few challenges flying in, he concedes a free-kick after a particularly strong challenge.

Reacting well to a Dawson ball down the left, Forster plays the ball into the inside left channel to Windass who cuts the ball to the top of the box to Ashbee, his ball is then worked back to the left flank before Forster crosses in to the waiting Windass who is flagged off-side.

Some fancy football by Marney on the edge of our box gives West Brom their first really chance of the match.  As Dean flicks the ball over his head, Kamara manages to get the ball before firing in a shot that's easily saved by Myhill.

Again, West Brom get another opportunity.  City concede a free-kick near the half way line.  The long ball is played into the box where Turner, who dealt with most Baggies high balls during the match, cleared out to Marney on the edge of the box.  Dean however missed the ball with his kick allowing a Baggie to put his shot wide of the post.

Inexplicably, the ref gives West Brom a free-kick after a high ball is contested by both Marney and Chaplow.  With both players having a foot at a very similar height, the ref blows up for the free-kick signalling a high foot.  Surely their player was just as bad, given the similar heights to the feet?  Anyway the free-kick releases former Mackem Kevin Phillips, who has a one on one with Myhill.  It was a fairly easy chance for the former international but puts the ball wide.

The next chance falls to City.  Dawson gets a throw-in on the left which releases Forster down the wing.  His attempted cross is blocked before falling to Livermore.  Again his cross is blocked which falls to Dawson and once again his cross is blocked, this time with City wining a corner.  Marney's cross is met at the front post by Delaney who puts his header over.

One further chance falls to West Brom before City get a couple of attempts.  Kamara, about 25 yards out, passes to Phillips who puts his chance over.  A hard challenge on Delaney is flagged, but the ref waves play-on as Ashbee had received the ball.  His long pass finds Windass on the edge of the area who lays the ball back to Parkin, but a soft shot is easily saved.  The next chance falls to Forster, having received the ball via a long Parkin pass to Delaney who crossed from the left to Forster, but his shot was once again well saved by the ex-Yorkster Kiely in the away goal.

Now I must admit to causing great offence to a member of the City team.  Turner had made a great challenge on Kevin Phillips to which I called out "Good Challenge Robbie Turner".  I must admit I haven't a clue why I used the name of the useless forward when praising Mike - perhaps the cold weather had got to me.

In an attempt for the ball with Koumas on the half way line, Ashbee doesn't make good enough contact, allowing the Welshman a run up the tigers right.  A hard Ricketts challenge sees him receive the first booking of the game before West Brom put the free-kick wide of the post.

Seeing our next chance fall to the hard working Forster was not much of a surprise.  A long ball saw him turn his defender well before his shot was just tipped wide.  The corner was whipped into Parkin whose header knocked the ball out to Delaney, but his effort went over.

As I said earlier, whilst more chances are falling to City, the better football is being played by West Brom in the middle of the park.  I think it would be fair to say that it was their excellent bald headed midfielder Chaplow who was the hardest working of their team that caused the most problems to us.  An opportunity falls to him on the angle of the box with Parkin failing to out-muscle his opponent before Chaplow gets into the box but puts his shot into the side netting.

With the half coming to a close, Marney and Parkin collide in the centre-circle.  Yet again I find myself becoming very frustrated with the new rules regarding injuries and players no longer being sporting enough to put the ball out of play.  So whilst two of ours are lying down, West Brom continue to play on before Dawson finally puts the ball out.  Marney, who'd played the first half with strapping on his right hamstring, obviously had come out the worst in this encounter looked quite groggy for the rest of the half

A West Brom shot crashes off the city post soon afterwards after Delaney and Livermore both miss challenges on the edge of the area.  The half is then brought to a close following a further West Brom opportunity.  Livermore had lost possession 35 yards out to Kamara, whose pass finds Phillips on the edge of the area, but his soft shot is wide.

Not returning in the second half was Marney who presumably had suffered from the coming together with Parkin, so made way for France.  Shortly in the second half, yet another clash between City players, this time Ashbee and Delaney, saw Delaney requiring treatment.

Keeping the ball down in midfield saw West Brom play the better football in the second half, whilst City started hitting the ball longer and over the top.  This paid dividends to the Baggies as Greening got the ball out right, played to Kamara who got a shot away, but straight at our keeper

Entering the West Brom area, Livermore played the ball left to Forster whose cross was blocked.  Whilst it seemed to have come off the West Brom defender, the ref gave a goal kick.

Reacting to the increasingly ineffective City forward line, Windass was brought off for Elliott.  Perhaps this substitution could be seen as a little harsh on Windass, given Parkin was equally as ineffective.

West Brom then score.  A Baggie in the inside left channel plays in Kamara.  He evades a couple of challenges before firing  in a shot.  With this, West Brom bring off Koumas and Phillips for Ellington and Gera.

City get a couple of chances again, firstly with Elliott heading wide from a Forster right wing cross, then Forster wins a corner, which Livermore takes short to France.  His looping cross just evading Forster at the back post

A long ball from Gera into the box finds Ellington whose header is saved by Myhill.  The rebound falling again to Ellington but shoots straight at Myhill.  The ball then rolls out to Gera whose drive was tipped over by Myhill.

To the sound of cheers from some sections of the East stand, City replace Parkin with Bridges.

Soon afterwards City are reduced to 10 men, as a ball out right to France sees him leave his foot in, Clement falls over this leg sees both men hit the ground.  Following a period of treatment, it's obvious France cannot carry on and is stretchered off.  I personally thought that whilst it was a foul by France, Clement could have avoided the leg

On our left wing, Ashbee chops down West Brom's Koren.  A low cross is cleared by Ash before the ball is played back in.  Turner, making probably his first headed mistake of the match knocks the ball out for a corner.  The corner is hit to the edge of the area where Chaplow flicks it onto Koren before shooting over.

Down the left wing, Forster continues to run the channels well.  With him winning a free-kick, Dawson whips the ball into the back post where it's cleared by Koren.  Delaney collects the ball in the centre-circle and releases Elliott down the left to win a corner.  The very poor corner is collected by Chaplow who runs down out exposed left wing.  At the edge of the area, he crosses to Ellington before his shot is put over.

City win a free kick near the half way line after Robinson runs into the back of Delaney.  A long ball into the box finds Bridges who flicks the ball onto Forster, but can't get enough direction on his shot on the turn and is well wide.

With the 4th official signalling 4 minutes of time added on, West Brom get the ball down the right to Gera whose cross is just too high for Kamara.  Kamara is then brought off for Carter.

Kiely clears a long City ball, but goes down under a heavy challenge.  West Brom then decide to contest the dropped ball, rather than the usual ref drops the ball and opposing player knocks it back to the keeper.  With City winning this dropped ball, it's played to Bridges who's fouled about 30 yards out.  With Kiely still appearing a little groggy after the injury, Dawson waves away Elliott for the free-kick before chipping the ball into the area, which is headed clear by McShane

The match is then brought to a close.

Overall this was a poor City performance.  In the first half, the ball was played through Livermore, whose intelligent passing paid some dividends.  In the second half, City increasingly lumped the ball up front.  This avoided Livermore and his second half contribution was limited to diving in (and missing) a few challenges.  Turner and Delaney were fairly solid at the back, whilst Forster worked very hard in the forward channels.  I do feel that the 4-3-3 formation with the current players does not help us, but then we're very limited in players in the squad.  With Elliott being unable to play for 90 minutes and France now possibly injured, we don't have the players available to play a 4-4-2.  Perhaps a returning McPhee may help us out.

HULL CITY (4-3-3): Myhill; Ricketts, Turner, Delaney, Dawson; Marney, Ashbee, Livermore; Forster, Parkin, Windass.  Subs: France (for Marney, 46), Elliott (for Windass, 54), Bridges (for Parkin, 69), Coles, Duke.

Goals: None

Booked: Ashbee, Ricketts

Sent Off: None

WEST BROMWICH ALBION: Kiely, McShane, Clement, Davies, Robinson, Koumas, Greening, Chaplow, Koren, Phillips, Kamara.  Subs: Gera (for Koumas, 60), Ellington (for Phillips, 60), Carter (for Kamara, 89), Zuberbuhler, Hodgkiss.

Goals: Kamara 59

Booked: Greening

Sent Off: None

REFEREE:  I Williamson

ATTENDANCE: 18,005