Albion’s other great escape
WEST Bromwich Albion’s “Great Escape” of May 15, 2005, will be forever remembered in the folklore of the club. At Christmas 2004 the Baggies were bottom of the Premier League and eight points from safety. On the last day of the season the Baggies were still at the foot of the table but the margin had closed. They faced Portsmouth at the Hawthorns, knowing that they must win and other results go in their favour if they were to avoid relegation.
The Albion players did their part, beating Pompey 1–0. Southampton lost 2–1 to Manchester United, Norwich City were thumped 6–0 by Fulham, and Crystal Palace could only draw 2–2 with Charlton Athletic – gifting West Brom a miraculous escape.
It wasn’t the first time that the Baggies had secured safety on the last day of the season in a match against Portsmouth. Eleven years earlier, at the end of the 1993-94 season, they had travelled to Fratton Park knowing that a win would save them from relegation from what was then called the First Division.
Albion had been promoted up to the second tier of English football at the end of the previous season, having beaten Port Vale in the play-off final at Wembley. However, before the 1993-94 season started their Argentine manager Ossie Ardiles quit the Hawthorns to take over at Tottenham Hotspur and he was replaced as Albion boss by his former assistant Keith Burkinshaw.
Struggled
At the higher level, Albion struggled to maintain the form that had seen them promoted the previous season. On the last day, May 8, 1994, Peterborough United had already been relegated, while Oxford United and Birmingham City were also threatened with the drop along with the Baggies. Oxford needed both the Baggies and Blues to lose if they were to stay up, while Albion had to match Birmingham’s result as their superior goal difference would ensure they survived.
Burkinshaw’s Albion team for the last game was: Tony Lange, Gary Strodder, Scott Darton, Lee Ashcroft, Neil Parsley, Paul Raven, Andy Hunt, Ian Hamilton, Bob Taylor, Kevin Donovan, Bernard Mcnally; substitutes: Mickey Mellon, Paul Mardon and Neil Cutler (gk).
Portsmouth boss Jim Smith picked: Alan Knight, Jon Gittens, Bjorn Kristensen, Anthony Dobson, Mark Stimson, Robbie Pethick, Stuart Doling, Darryl Powell, Mark Chamberlain, Paul Hall, Paul Wood; substitutes: Guy Butters, Deon Burton and Aaron Flahaven (gk).
Around 10,000 Albion fans are believed to have travelled south for the match and the kick-off was delayed by crowd trouble as fighting broke-out in the Fratton Park North Stand.
It was a nervy first half as Portsmouth, safe from relegation, proved they were going to be no pushover. Fans in the stands had their transistor radios (no smartphones then) to keep up to speed with Birmingham’s match, away at Tranmere Rovers. The news came through that the Blues had taken the lead (they were to finish 2–1 winners).
Six minutes before half time Ian Hamilton sent over an inch-perfect cross into the Pompey goal area and Lee Ashcroft, shrugging off a challenge from Mark Stimson, headed the ball into the back of the net.
Pressure
In the second half Portsmouth piled on the pressure but Tony Lange, standing in for an injured Stuart Naylor, was impressive in the Albion goal. Early in the second half Lange made a double-save from Deon Burton, who had come on after the interval to replace Dobson, and Paul Wood.
Later, Lange made a superb fingertip save to deny Paul Hall, who had another goalbound shot cleared off the line.
The score remained 1–0 in Albion’s favour at the final whistle and that was enough, despite Birmingham’s win, to keep the Baggies up.
Thousands of fans poured on to the pitch to celebrate, and there was a some fighting again with Portsmouth supporters, but nothing could mar the jubilation of the Black Country faithful, joyous that the Baggies had avoided relegation.