Decent performance but better opposition - City lose 3-1 at home to a sparkling West Brom side but give them a few scares along the way.

Report by Ian Thomson.

One of the features of life to which we old codgers, as we were so lovingly described recently on this very list, is that you do with increasing frequency find your slumbers disturbed by an insistent pressure on the bladder, to be assuaged only by a visit, usually on tiptoe lest other members of the household be disturbed, to the smallest room. Always looking for the silver lining in every cloud, I am usually pleased to find that, my mission successfully completed, the few moments back under the duvet before sleep inevitably drifts back over me affords a welcome opportunity for some quiet reflection on whatever subject takes my fancy. And thus it was in the small hours of yesterday morning, as, luxuriating blissfully once again in the warmth of my good lady sleeping next to me after a brief sortie to the freezing cold bathroom, my thoughts turned to the imminent encounter with the Baggies or Throstles, depending on your age, and whether it would be a case of the pendulum again swinging to and fro, inasmuch as the Tigers, having hauled themselves up by the bootstraps following the horrors of Preston and Southampton with a series of impressive results and (more importantly) performances, would find their once-more resurgent confidence pegged back yet again by the rigours of the test posed by the most testing team in our Division.

And, whilst the eventual result might very well suggest that that was indeed how things panned out at the Circle yesterday, it doesn't really tell the full story. True, the scoreboard doesn't lie, and yet the final outcome was in truth a bit hard on the men in amber and black. I don't know exactly what the final statistics were, but we must have created probably fifteen chances during the course of the evening as opposed to the five or six maximum carved out by our visitors, and by any analysis (as those watching on Sky will testify) gave them a bloody good game, which in truth was only finally settled by the pre-penultimate kick of the match.

But therein, I suppose, lies the rub. Because for all of the passion and endeavour we showed, and for all that we had them on the ropes time and again, City were without doubt given a footballing lesson, or at least a lesson in ruthless professionalism, the sort of quality which sets teams with genuine promotion-seeking credentials apart from the also-rans. For sure, we have taken great strides this season, and on last night's showing would probably have beaten most teams in our Division, in many cases quite comfortably, but we were also shown what a cutting edge really is. The expression "reality check" is somewhat hackneyed these days, but suffice to say that the increasingly-vociferous proclamations of recent weeks that the Tigers are ready for a tilt at the play-offs were given a searching and not altogether encouraging examination last night.

The good news though is that, without doubt, we're getting there. I read a quote from old-time Albion hero Tony Brown in one of the papers this morning, the gist of which was that the only difference between the sides was the finishing. And that just about sums it up. Although not a classic performance, and although one or two old frailties exposed themselves on occasion, City played with genuine spirit, endeavour and resourcefulness yesterday to the point where (hackneyed expression number 2 coming up, I'm afraid) the man from Mars hacking into the Sky satellite signal would have been hard-pressed to know which team was the League leader......except in the vital area of finishing. A couple of factors contributed to this: firstly, West Brom possess a back-line noted for its paciness and mobility, the perfect foil to the qualities of Campbell and (in particular) Folan. Secondly (and in a sense following on from the first point) I'm not sure that picking Windass from the off was the right choice, as impressive as his form has been of late: might it not have been better to start with Campbell and Folan to keep the WBA defence running around and then release Deano into the fray at about three-quarter time if needed, just when the legs of the defenders were starting to ache a bit? As it was, the visitors' defence looked very comfortable in dealing with Deano, who consequently wasn't at his most effective. And finally, all three of our front men fielded during the game seemed curiously out of sorts, something which just happens from time to time and can't always be foreseen.

Deano's inclusion apart, the only other surprise on the team selection front was fielding of Delaney at left back, although it later emerged that this was necessitated by Dawson's apparently having being stricken by the ab-dabs. Accordingly the City line-up was as follows:-

Myhill
Ricketts Turner Brown Delaney
Garcia Ashbee Marney Hughes
Windass Folan

Subs: Marney (for Campbell, 53 mins), Barmby (for Windass, 58 mins), France (for Delaney, 81 mins)

So the game kicked off, at the slightly surreal hour of 5.20 (or to be more precise 5.18: had the experts in the studio run out of things to say, or had the Ocean Finance ad tape broken? If this had been terrestrial TV they'd have run a couple of Public Information Films to fill the gap. In the 1970s) with City playing towards the disappointing muster of no more than 1000 yam-yams behind Kiely's goal. West Brom may scoff at their near neighbours and arch-rivals Wolves, but they were certainly put to shame by the size of the latter's recent following at City.

The early start meant that it was probably still only 5.20 when we fell a goal behind. A City cross was cleared, the Brom broke quickly down the left, Brunt swung in a cross from wide out which evaded our central defenders but fell straight into the path of Phillips who had gone slightly wide (those who know no better would have termed it a slide-rule ball), and who drilled the leather confidently low past Myhill.

Suddenly the words "long", "hard" and "evening" loomed in juxtaposition into the consciousness of the Tiger Nation, but thankfully this didn't seem to have percolated through to the players. We responded immediately with gusto, and on 5 a cross from Hughes (who continued his improvement in form of recent weeks) was knocked back into the middle by Garcia, Ash laid it off to Deano and the City number 9's shot was blocked. We continue in this vein, generally on top with slick passing and thoughtful running the watchwords, not, it has to be said, particularly assisted by referee Webster, who seemed to be giving a lot of the benefit of the doubt following a number of iffy challenges to our opponents, presumably on the basis that they were the bigger club. This is typified on 10 when a clear push on Brown as he attempts to head away a cross goes unpunished.

We have a lucky escape though on 14 when slack marking at a corner from the right results in a header not far over the angle of post and bar. This is a brief interlude though in what is turning into a pretty sustained period of City pressure. On 17 Delaney and Hughes combine with the latter's cross causing panic in the Black Country ranks before Garcia returns the leather into the mixer, but City are penalised for reasons only Mr Webster seemed to understand. Three minutes on and Garcia - voted man of the match by the fans, although Hughes must have been a contender - pops up on the left and puts in a low cross which Folan cleverly flicks goalwards only for Kiely to get down low and pouch it.

WBA earn a bit of respite on 21 when Turner is forced to concede a corner which is played long and volleyed fiercely back in but Turner heads to safety, but we soon establish ourselves again, and after Garcia is brought down by Robinson, who sees yellow for his efforts, Marney whips in the free and Ash heads over. Another scare for us on 27 though when the ball is played through to a suspiciously offside-looking Miller in the inside right channel and with Brown and Delaney in his wake, but Myhill blocks the resultant shot superbly.

For all our possessional advantage, we are looking a bit exposed when they attack, which might be down to the fact that neither of our central midfielders is having the best of days, and after Hughes chips one just over following good work from Garcia this is brought home cruelly when we fall two behind smack on the half hour. Midfield is nowhere to be seen, and the defence far too square, as a superb ball from Phillips sends Morrison charging up the middle before poking the leather past the advancing Myhill and just inside the right-hand post. It's a very competently executed goal which even factions of the Tiger Nation are moved to applaud, but you have to ask questions about the quality of the cover.

0-2 is hard on us though, and both players and crowd are subdued for a spell, Deano's frustration being evident on 35 when he goes into the book for a challenge on Pele. Our lack of bite (and luck) is evident though on 43 when Kiely spills a Garcia ball, provoking a scramble in the Albion box in which three times City players (Deano, Folan and Ash) hit the ball goalwards only for it to be blocked by a defender. The ball eventually goes out to Hughes on the left, Delaney overlaps and crosses, and Folan heads downwards, powerfully but inches wide. A Delaney effort following an Ash through ball is deflected behind for a corner a minute later, and the Albion are looking rattled, not least when Marney appears to be on the receiving end of a blue and white clad elbow, but Mr Webster is unmoved. Delaney then goes into the book though when Pele goes down following minimal contact, and then it's half time and we are empty-handed and frustrated. For once though, the Circle crowd has appreciated the Tigs' efforts and despite the scoreline, which would normally herald a mixture of boos and calls for the manager to be drowned in a slurry pit, our heroes are warmly applauded from the field of play.

So, half-time, and a message now for Mr John White, Engineer Manager of B-Secure Systems. Sir, I have in my possession your business card, which I found tucked into a poster frame in one of the East Stand pissoirs. Whether you put it there in the hope of advertising your business or not I have no idea, but if you were responsible might I make so bold as to suggest that you try to come up with more imaginative and edifying methods of advertising your business? It's usually only prostitutes and STD clinics who advertise in public lavatories, you know.

We all laugh about Phil Brown's shoes, but the visiting manager Tony Mowbray has an equally amusing sartorial mental block when it comes to his suits. If you don't believe me you can check this out, but he seems to take the front half of a conventional suit jacket, the rear half of one of the same length but acquired from High and Mighty, and stitch the two together, so that when he wears it the back half billows quite intriguingly. I first observed this some years ago when I was reluctantly dragged along by a friend to watch a Hibs v Dundee game (I wanted to go to E Stirlingshire v Cowdenbeath) when Mowbray was managing Hibs and was quite fascinated by it. Sadly, the ex-Boro man had a coat on over his suit yesterday so it was impossible to ascertain whether his tailor's sense of humour has waned at all.

Anyway, we come screaming out of the blocks on the restart and force a throw which results in another goalmouth scramble, but again we are unable to apply the final touch. On 49 a Turner header looks goalbound but is headed out from under the bar. West Brom break again though a minute later and the resultant powerful drive is thankfully directed straight at Boaz. We're still trying hard, but looking frankly like a side playing against a team from a higher division in the Cup: nothing seems to be coming off.

With the substitution of Marney, who let us say enjoyed a quiet return to first-team duty, thought of a switch to 4-3-3 and all-out attack are swiftly dispelled as Campbell is surprisingly put onto the left side of midfield and Hughes moves into the centre. This state of affairs lasts for precisely five minutes, when St Nick of Barmby enters the fray and Campbell goes up front, prompting one to wonder just what was in the manager's mind before these substitutions.

We really don't seem to be offering much at this stage, and are often our own worst enemy, as when Garcia makes a fine interception, moves to the corner of the box then passes straight to defender with two well-placed colleagues in support. Barmby is unlucky though a minute later when another Ash ball (how much more effective he is when he plays the ball forward instead of sideways or backwards) finds Barmby, the angle is narrowish, though, and despite a well-struck effort Kiely is able to make the block.

There are justifiable claims for handball on 69 when, with the moon now flat on its back in the navy blue-looking sky, Kiely storms off his line to deny Campbell, but looks very much as though he has carried the ball outside the area.

But just when it really does seem that the game is petering out, a lifeline! Hughes gets the ball out wide on the right, lays it back to Garcia, and the Antipodean with the squeaky voice cuts inside and hammers a glorious drive into the far corner of the goal. A superlative strike, created out of not very much, but suddenly we are right back in it. Almost immediately, Robinson scythes Campbell down and gets his second yellow. The Circle is now seething: could things be turning our way?

Sadly not. Just when everything is set up for what the late Eddie Waring would have called a "grandstand finish", as so often happens the heat seems to go out of our efforts to get back on terms, and we seem unable to make the extra man count, not helped it has to be said by an overly-fussy attitude on the part of Mr Webster. The next time we go near is with six minutes of normal time remaining, and is due to an error by the visiting defence, one of whose number fires a clearance following a City corner straight at Wayne Brown, and the ball ricochets goalwards, forcing Kiely into a save. Hughes then volleys wastefully over a minute later after Garcia is released on the right and crosses.

We get pulled up again for no obvious reason after a free kick is hoisted into the WBA box, and then it's injury time - four minutes of it. But you know in your heart of hearts that it isn't going to be our night, and this is illustrated graphically when, after about three and three-quarter minutes of added time, another City attack is repelled by a Baggies rearguard which has marshalled itself impressively since the departure of their left-back. The ball is cleared out to Bednar, City legs are tired, and the Jambos loanee is allowed to advance pretty much unchallenged to the right-hand corner of the City box and hammer a powerful effort just inside the near post. Myhill makes contact but the ball bounces under him and into the onion bag.

All home defeats are disappointing, but scoreline was undoubtedly distorted and it was genuinely a day to be disappointed for as opposed to be with the team. Let's hope that the Tigers take the game to West Brom in the same way when the return fixture takes place next month. I know I'm looking forward to it already.

HULL CITY (4-4-2): Myhill; Ricketts, Turner, Brown, Delaney; Garcia, Ashbee, Marney, Hughes; Folan, Windass.  Subs: Campbell (for Marney, 54), Barmby (for Windass, 59), France (for Delaney, 82), Doyle, Collins.

Goals: Garcia 71

Booked: Delaney, Windass

Sent Off: None

WEST BROMWICH ALBION: Kiely, Hoefkens, Barnett, Pele, Robinson, Morrison, Koren, Greening, Brunt, Phillips, Miller.  Subs: Gera (for Brunt, 67), Bednar (for Phillips, 76), Cesar (for Miller, 77), Steele, Teixeira.

Goals: Phillips 2; Morrison 32; Bednar 90

Booked: Robinson

Sent Off: Robinson

REFEREE:  C Webster

ATTENDANCE: 18,391