SPORT IS THE GREAT ESCAPE STILL ON?
Late Everton strike means West Brom will fight to the end
IS THE greatest of escapes really on? Somehow, almost inexplicably, West Bromwich Albion remain clinging on to their Premier League status.
Anything other than victory over Tottenham would have brought down the sword that has been dangling over them for weeks. But just as the board went up to show five minutes of stoppage time, West Brom gasped back to life.
Appropriately, West Brom’s goal was a mad scramble. The Hawthorns let out a guttural roar of hope when their team won a corner. Then silence descended.
Matt Phillips delivered, Craig Dawson headed powerfully, then all hell broke loose. Chris Brunt took a swipe, Hugo Lloris dived in vain and a combination of Danny Rose and Jake Livermore forced the ball over the line.
It was not immediately apparent a goal had been given. Only Brunt emerging from the melee to boot the ball high into the air in celebration confirmed the matter.
The calmest man in the storm was Darren Moore. West Brom’s interim manager stayed poised in the lunge position he had adopted for the set piece. Then he stood up and pointed to his temple. Concentrate.
His players did that. Ben Foster produced a superb save to hold on to a Fernando Llorente header going for the top corner.
Results still still need to go West Brom’s way of course – specifically Swansea drawing with Southampton on Tuesday – before the club can even think of a final-day victory at Crystal Palace to survive.
But on the last home game of the season this was a rare chance for fans to celebrate a team’s fight against the fading of the light. Even having a sniff at this stage looked impossible when Alan Pardew belatedly left the club.
But Moore’s list of scalps is now impressive indeed, including wins over Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho and Rafa Benitez, while a draw with Jurgen Klopp was achieved from 2-0 down. Forget the permanent West Brom job, the cast for a statue of the 44-year-old is already in the making.
‘I can’t dictate what people are saying outside regards the job,’ said Moore. ‘All I’ve done is come in and answered the call by the club to take the first team over the next six games. I’ve called for that strength in unity and we’ve seen a response from everybody. Through that response and hard work we’ve come up with some good results.’
Things are a little more complicated at present for Spurs. Pochettino’s decision to subtly send his Tottenham future into the air following the FA Cup defeat by Manchester United has added an unexpected element of intrigue to the campaign’s culmination.
Having been fortunate to beat Watford 2-0, Pochettino switched to a back-three system but his team still found it difficult to break down a West Brom side that now knows what it is all about. When Spurs did get through, they found Foster in sparkling form. First the West Brom keeper stretched up an arm to palm over Victor Wanyama’s curling shot. Then Foster was out quickly to block — with his face — a first-time shot by Harry Kane.
There would be a number of Premier League clubs interested in signing Foster this summer but he has already declared his intention to stay put.
Having soaked up what Spurs had to offer, West Brom placed their opponents under sustained pressure shortly before the break. Toby Alderweireld was required to clear under his own bar when Jay Rodriguez chipped beyond Hugo Lloris. And Ahmed Hegazi should have done more than glance wide a fine Phillips corner.
A duel between Allan Nyom and Danny Rose erupted after the hour when the pair clashed to each receive a booking. Rose responded to Nyom’s curious anger at an innocuous tussle by pushing the West Brom defender high on the chest. Embarrassingly, Nyom fell to the ground holding his face.
Kane’s prolificacy nearly extended to West Brom soon after. Hegazai headed Brunt’s free-kick into the box and Kane swiped badly to force Lloris into drastic action. The Spurs goalkeeper reacted superbly to tip over the bar. However, he could do nothing a short while later.