Cup win on a boggy day for the Baggies
THE 1989-90 season is not one that many Baggies fans will recall in with any fondness. The late ’80s and early ’90s saw the club in the doldrums and Albion put in another lacklustre performance in what was then called the Second Division.
Albion, led by manager Brian Talbot, finished 1989-90 in 20th place, two positions above the relegation zone. Their record was played 46, won 12, drawn 15, lost 19, goals for 67, goals against 71. The racked up 51 points, three more than Bournemouth who ended up in the last relegation spot, while Bradford City and Stoke City were the other clubs to drop down. The division champions were Leeds United, on 85 points, their superior goal difference giving them the edge on second placed Sheffield United, who also finished on 85 points. A memorable FA Cup game was played at the Hawthorns on January 27, 1990, when the Baggies were in the fourth round of the competition. In the third round, played on January 6, the Baggies were drawn at home to Wimbledon, then playing in the First Division, and enjoyed a comfortable
2–0 win.
Albion were again drawn at home in the fourth round and again faced First Division opposition from London in the form of Charlton Athletic.
Albion’s team for the tie was: 1. Stuart Naylor, 2. Daryl Burgess, 3. Graham Harbey, 4. Gary Robson, 5. Stacey North, 6. Chris Whyte, 7. Tony Ford, 8. Don Goodman, 9. Colin West, 10. Bernard Mcnally, 11. Kevin Bartlett, subs, 12. Brian Talbot, 13. Adrian Foster.
Torrential
The match was played in torrential rain. The report in that evening’s Sports Argus said: “The muddy pitch turned the game into a farce at times though, with players struggling to keep their feet and the ball sticking in the mud.”
Albion’s goalkeeper Stuart Naylor made a number of vital saves. In the 20th minute Chris Whyte mistimed a
back header and the ball dropped into the path of Charlton’s million pound rated striker Paul Williams, who only had the keeper to beat. Naylor spread himself and blocked the shot with his left leg.
At half time the score was 0–0 but just three minutes after the restart Tony Ford put the Baggies in front, with an assist from the atrocious weather. Speaking to Robert Millward of the Birmingham Post, Tony Ford said: “From where I was standing, I thought the ball was going to hit the post. But it hit a puddle and went in.”
He went on: “Charlton may feel a little aggrieved that the game wasn’t abandoned. It was farcical out there. If the score had been 0–0 towards the end the referee might have stopped it, but as we were leading 1–0 and the crowd were yelling for us, he couldn’t really abandon it.”
As the second half progressed, Charlton had their chances to level
the scores. After a period of sustained pressure on the Albion goal, with Williams and Colin Walsh hitting the post and Chris Whyte and Stacey North making goal line clearances, in the 75th minute Colin West was judged to have handled the ball in the area. Walsh took the resulting penalty but Naylor was on the spot, flinging himself to the left and beating the shot away.
The game ended 1–0 and Albion’s reward in the next round was another home fixture against First Division opposition – this time, near neighbours Aston Villa.
Sadly, the Baggies FA Cup run came to an end. In front of a 25,585 crowd at the Hawthorns on February 17, 1990, Albion were defeated 2–0, after a full-blooded local derby that saw Gary Robson stretchered off with a broken shin after five minutes. Derek Mountfield and Tony Daley scored for Villa in a hard-fought win for the Brummies.