Woking woes for West Brom in cup disaster
Season 1990-91 Part Two
WALSALL, playing in the fourth Division, finished 16th with this record: played 46, won 12, drew 17 and lost 17, goals for 48, against 51, total number of points 53.
Things were looking good early on when only four defeats were suffered in their first 19 games, but after that it was all downhill for the Saddlers!
They struggled both at home and away and they actually failed to score in 17 of their League games during the second half of the season, registering only five wins overall, two of which came in the last two fixtures
The Saddlers’ best win of the season was 4-0 away at Aldershot while their heaviest defeat was a 5-0 clattering at Northampton in mid-october. They also lost 5-2 at Halifax in early March. And Stuart Rimmer, with 13 goals, was again the team’s top scorer.
In the 1990-91 FA Cup competition, Wolves crashed out early doors, surprisingly beaten by Cambridge United 1-0 at Molineux in round three.
Humiliated
Albion were humiliated at The Hawthorns by non-league side Woking who won a 3rd round tie 4-2 with Tim Buzaglo scoring a hat-trick. This was the first time a non-league club had beaten Albion in over 75 years – since West Ham (then members of the Southern League) knocked them out in 1913.
Walsall beat Aylesbury in the first round before losing to Swansea City in round 2.
In the League Cup competition, Wolves left the scene in round 2, defeated by Hull City on the ‘away’ goal rule.
Albion also went out in the first round, beaten 3-2 on aggregate by Bristol City (after extra-time) while Walsall ousted Cambridge United before losing 9-1 on aggregate to Chelsea (going down 5-0 at home and 4-1 away).
Cup
This was the first time Albion had been beaten by a non-league club in over 75 years
Wolves and Albion also took part in the Zenith Data Systems Cup. Wolves beat Leicester City 1-0 in round one before losing 2-1 at home to Leeds United, while the Baggies were defeated 5-3 in an eight-goal thriller by Barnsley at The Hawthorns Walsall entered the Leyland DAF Trophy. They lost to Birmingham City and beat Lincoln City in preliminary games before succumbing to Cambridge United 1-0 in the first round proper. Two players signed by Wolves this term were Paul Birch (from Aston Villa) and Mark Burke (from Middlesbrough). Albion recruited defenders Graham Roberts (from Tottenham Hotspur) and Gary Strodder (from West Ham United) and Walsall brought in Ian Mcparland from Hull City on loan.