‘TAKE SHOTTS AT PLAYERS.. NOT WOODY’
Return of Robson-kanu to a central role has lifted Albion clear of the chasing pack for place in Prem
BARNSLEY MIDDLESBROUGH
RYAN SHOTTON leaped to Jonathan Woodgate’s defence and claimed he is the best boss he has played under.
With Middlesbrough now mired in a relegation scrap, fans are questioning whether or not the former Tottenham and Real Madrid defender “is good enough”.
Conor Chaplin’s 73rd-minute winner lifted Barnsley off the bottom and to within six points of the struggling visitors.
Winless in eight games, Woodgate is under pressure as his side prepare to host promotion hopefuls Leeds on Wednesday and then Nottingham Forest.
But defender Shotton, who has previously worked under Tony Pulis, Mark Hughes, Gianfranco Zola and Harry Redknapp, said: “Yes, he can turn this around. Of course he can. I bump into people in the street and they ask me if he is good enough. Of course he is.
“He is the best manager I have had, hands down. He is great with the lads, his man-management is brilliant, and his quality on the training ground is perfect.
“We just haven’t been showing that on the pitch. That’s what we have to turn around, it’s down to us. I am excited for Wednesday because there is no better game to bounce back in.”
Boro failed to have a shot on target – and were beaten when Chaplin fired in after seeing a first effort hit the underside of the bar.
Tykes centre-back Michael Sollbauer said: “We are maturing, I feel it. After every game, I feel we get smarter in some situations.
“You have to play smarter, especially in the last minutes of games. But we are still alive.” BARNSLEY: Collins 6, Sollbauer 8, Halme 7, J Williams 7, Ludewig 7, Mowatt 7, Bahre 6 (Ritzmaier 89), Oduor 7, Brown 7, Woodrow 6, Chaplin 7 (Thomas 82, 6) MIDDLESBROUGH: Pears 6, Moukoudi 7, Shotton 6, Friend 6, Howson 6, Wing 6, Saville 5 (Mcnair 79, 5), Morrison 6 (Coulson 79, 6), Johnson 5, Fletcher 5, Assombalonga 5 (Gestede 72, 5) REF: Geoff Eltringham ATT: 16,106
HAL ROBSON-KANU has thanked Slaven Bilic for making him the central figure in West Brom’s revitalised promotion surge.
The Baggies striker scored twice as the Championship leaders moved nine points clear of third-placed Fulham. Not so long ago, they were having a wobble but have since found their second wind.
The resurgence has coincided with boss Bilic switching Robson-kanu from the wing to play as a target man – a call which has helped provide 13 points from a possible last 15. “The manager had seen enough that that was my best position, leading the line and playing down the middle,” said the 30-year-old former Wales striker.
“I want to keep doing what I’m doing. There is a massive desire in the group to keep picking up points. I have always been confident in my ability – at what I can bring to the team.
“But it’s not about me, it’s about the squad and the group and about maintaining this level of performance.”
The Robins – weakened by a bug that had gone through their squad – were made to look feeble, with even Robsonkanu’s old Wales team-mate Ashley Williams given an uncomfortable time.
It was Williams’ error that enabled Robson-kanu to score his second and Albion’s third goal just moments after
Ref: they had been reduced to 10 men with the 77th-minute dismissal of Romaine Sawyers. The midfielder was shown a straight red card for putting his hand to the throat of Jamie Paterson, leading to a bust-up between the two dug-outs.
Robson-kanu celebrated by running directly back to the touchline, but claimed there was no malice.
“I was just going to our bench to celebrate,” he insisted. “Emotions were running high after losing a man, but more importantly we got the three points.
“The boys have shown a mentality, a desire and commitment all season. To get three goals away from home, a clean sheet, and with a man down, just shows the mentality of the group.”
Callum Robinson gave West Brom the lead with a bizarre rebound, before Robson-kanu’s tap-in made it 2-0 after Bristol City goalkeeper Daniel Bentley had spilled the ball.
All three goals stemmed from errors and Robins full-back Jay Dasilva said: “If you make mistakes against the top teams in big games they will make it count.
“There are 12 games left. We know what we need to do and it’s now up to us.” BRISTOL CITY: Bentley 4, Hunt 5, Williams 5, Benkovic 5, Dasilva 5, Henriksen 6, Nagy 5 (Palmer 74, 5), Eliasson 4 (Paterson 61, 4), O’dowda 3 (Weimann 61, 4), Wells 4,
Diedhiou 3
WEST BROM: Johnstone 6, O’shea 7, Hegazi 7, Ajayi 7, Townsend 8, Livermore 9, Sawyers 7, Krovinovic 7 (Harper 79, 5), Pereira 8
(Phillips 84), Robinson 8 (Grosicki 74, 5), Robson-kanu 9