Middlesbrough 0 - West Bromwich Albion 5

Dave Watkin:

Brilliant Baggies Blast Boro

Albion performed superbly in the top-of-the-table clash with Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium. They dominated the game with, arguably, given that they were playing their closest challengers, the finest Albion away performance since the 1970?s.

There were two changes as Roberto Di Matteo returned to a 4-4-2 formation. Fit again Luke Moore was recalled up front as Robert Koren returned to the bench and Jerome Thomas started as a direct replacement for the injured Marek Cech.

After the initial sparring the Baggies came close to opening the scoring. Graham Dorrans curled an inswinging free kick in from the left and although Arca rose highest, the ball skimmed off his head and over the bar, just inches away from an own goal. In the 18th minute, indiscipline cost Boro the opening goal. Bednar robbed Williams who, believing he?d been fouled, chased back and scythed down Thomas. From the free kick, just outside the area, Chris Brunt fired into the wall, which parted, allowing a deflection off the unfortunate Arca, which left keeper Coyne stranded. The Baggies doubled their lead in the 31st minute, with a memorable goal. Scott Carson fired a first time ball down the centre and under pressure from the onrushing Graham Dorrans, Coyne was forced into a hurried clearance from just outside of his area. The ball fell to Chris Brunt, 45 yards from goal and he didn?t hesitate, coolly placing his left foot half volley between the uprights. The Baggies were not finished, a spell of Boro attacking was followed by a well worked third goal, in the 42nd minute, which was created and scored by Youssouf Mulumbu. He gained possession on the halfway line, picked out Luke Moore, accepted a return pass just outside the box, fed Graham Dorrans who?d made an intelligent run down the left and raced into the box to head the subsequent cross beyond Coyne and into the top right hand corner.

Boro couldn?t get back into the game, but Brunt spurned an opportunity for a hat-trick when he volleyed over the bar. Finally, just after the hour mark, Carson was tested with a header from a free kick, but he clutched the ball just under the crossbar. Robert Koren was introduced for Moore, but this potentially defensive move didn?t make Albion any less attack minded, as Brunt sent another shot wide of the target. The Baggies scored a well merited fourth goal in the 81st minute. A probing chip into the six yard box from Graham Dorrans was headed out as far as the 18 yard line, where faced with a static defence, Roman Bednar scored with a firm low shot into the bottom corner. Boro did show a little spirit at this late stage and Scott Carson was twice tested, with a low drive from distance which he pushed around the foot of the post and a fierce cross-shot which he held comfortably. The Baggies however had the last word in the 88th minute with another stunning goal. Breaking quickly from defence, Graham Dorrans picked out Jerome Thomas with a splendid crossfield pass. He cut in from the left and twisted and turned his full back before firing left footed across the keeper into the far bottom corner. After a tremendous performance the team departed to a standing ovation from the travelling fans.

This was an almost perfect team performance. Scott Carson celebrated his assist for the second goal with gusto and later played his part in keeping a clean sheet. In the first half I recall three excellent defensive blocks, by Zuiverloon, Mattock and Martis, to thwart the home side. The strikers were an ever present threat and linked well with the midfield. It was the four midfield players who really stood out. A case could be made for giving any of them the man-of-the-match award - Chris Brunt for two excellent strikes; Graham Dorrans for orchestrating the play; Youssouf Mulumbu for an all-action display or Jerome Thomas who was at times unplayable.

Full marks too to our support. A small group began the following, to the tune of the Beach Boys' "Sloop John B", midway through the first half:

"Can?t hear the Boro sing
Can?t hear the Boro sing
Can?t hear the Boro sing, we?ll sing on our own
Don?t want to go home
Don?t want to go home
This is the best trip we?ve ever been on"

...and by the final whistle the whole Albion end was joining in.

I headed over the Transporter Bridge after the game. To my relief the Boro fans didn?t tip me into the river. They were full of praise for the Baggies. One said that if he had to pick the best eleven players from the twenty-two starters, he?d select the entire Albion team. Another raved about Jerome Thomas, influencing my choice of man-of-the-match. Final thought, two years ago Watford were top when we won 3-0 at Vicarage Road and they plummeted, will the same happen to Boro?

STATISTICS

Most supporters will be aware that before last season?s 1-0 win in Middlesbrough, on Saturday 27th September, courtesy of a Jonas Olsson goal, we hadn?t won there in any competition for more than 56 years. Not surprisingly, 5-0 is our biggest victory on their ground in over 100 years of competition. More remarkably though, our previous largest win was just 2-1, in the first league match between the two sides, in the eighth game of the 1901/02 season. The consequence of that success was that Albion finished champions and Boro runners-up ? let?s hope for a repeat. You will have deduced that our other five league wins and solitary cup success on Boro turf have all been 1-0!

This was our biggest away league win for over 32 years; a memorable 5-0 top flight victory over Leicester City on Saturday 7th May 1977, after a magical display by Laurie Cunningham. You have to go back almost 50 years for an even bigger win, 7-1 at St Andrews against Birmingham City on Easter Monday 18th April 1960, when Ronnie Allen and Derek Kevan both scored hat-tricks.

ALBION FORMRATE: BRILLIANT

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: JEROME THOMAS

Albion are top-of-the-table, a point ahead of Newcastle United and four points from the chasing field, led by Middlesbrough. We are also four points (or more) better off than in any of our recent successful Championship seasons.

This is our equal best start to a league campaign. Only once before, in 1953/54, have we been unbeaten in our first eight matches. Coincidentally, we also began with six wins and two draws, with a similar goal difference 21-5, compared to this year?s 20-7. To maintain parity we need a victory on Saturday against Crystal Palace, although it?s unlikely that we?ll match the corresponding result 56 years ago, when we won 7-3 at Newcastle United!

smethwick batman:

So I'm sat in the pub lunchtime and me mate Kev sez: "What do you think then John?"

"Well," sez I, "We're top the table and playing crap so the way this is going we'll probably win four nil."

Then Thomas goes and spoils it all for me!

It was meant to be an ironic comment of course (Boro away. Four nil? Oh come on) and I watched with increasing incredulity on Iraq TV courtesy of tinterweb as we piled on the goals , especially as we finally seemed to click as a team at last in arguably the toughest fixture we have faced so far.

This stunning win was principally due to the following for me:

1. Brunt finally woke up (though still playing on the wrong side for me), put in a sterling performance of real effort at last coupled with a double unleashing of that magical left foot.
2. Dorrans and Mulumbu (especially the latter) got back to basics and ran the game for 90 minutes with sublime performances in midfield.
3. Boro under the clueless Southgate are an awful shambles despite the innate talent of individual players for three years now and the constant money spent so I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's sacked in the morning by the saintly patient Gibson after this.
4. All eleven of our lot finally clicked as a team together (and dare I say it in a Mowbrayesque way with the passing and possession?) and RDM can be rightly cock a hoop with a display which got us a result again but at last with a degree of style and viper like finishing which will send a shock wave around the division in rival dressing rooms. As in, "oh dear they really are that good then. might as well try damage limitation when that fixture comes up cos we're going to lose"

I got kicked off tinterweb after 84 minutes with the message "stream removed after complaint by copyright holder" so missed the fifth goal but I saw more than enough prior to that to confirm that we are finally getting it together big style - and from a luxurious position of already amassing points when finding our feet under the new bloke.

It would be churlish to complain about tactics etc. or individual performances.

Oh, go on then, let's be churlish! We'll have nothing to talk about otherwise!

Can you imagine being a Real Madrid fan in 1956. "Oh Di Stefano did okay but I'm not sure about that Puskas - looks a bit podgy to me. And that Gento, I'd play him on the other wing....zzzz"

Player Marks

• Colin Farrell 7 Very solid again (sorry Neil!) not that he had a lot to do (again).
• The Loon 7 A sterling performance charging around the park. But he is supposed to be, er, a right back. Good job Boro had no idea how to exploit this.
• Shelley Winters 8 Tremendous steel from Ma Baker once again.
• Jaws 8 Proper solid. Too good for this divison, Wish he'd swear at the ref in Viking, he might not get booked so often.
• Buttocks 6 Beaten too often for me and I still don't get it but I was watching on tinterweb so what did people who went think? (especially Rob who said he was going to watch him like a hawk?).
• Makelele 9 Useless. Get a tackle in son for God's sake!
• Golden Gordon 9 Useless. No idea why we paid ?150,000 for him. We could have bought a Ferrari. What do you mean, we did?
• Unprintable On A Family Board 9 Lazy git. Thinks he's David Beckham. He'll be trying it on from the half way line next.
• Dylan 7 Still seems very reluctant to take people on on the left. Could be he wants to play on the right? Wake up RDM. If we swapped the two wingers over we coud have won this 5-0.
• Charlie 8 Charged around a lot and made an absolute nuisance of himself. Scored an excellent and typical Roman goal. Never lit a joint once. I hope Woodsy was taking notice.
• Useless 7 Wasn't actually. Lot's of running and good effort.

Subs

• Kor-El 6 Must have been lying near Green Kryptonite recently. Still doesn't look right to me at all.
• Hatfield And The North 6 Hard to mark fairly really as not tested.
• Timberwolf 6 Ditto though one close half chance at the end and not really on long enough.

The match I watched on tinterweb was presumably nicked from Sky by Osama Bin Laden cos I recognised the commentator;s voice though I can't put a name to it.

Among his gems today were:

1. Spending the entire game calling Luke Moore "Luke Young" until somebody must have dug him in the ribs cos he got it right when he was subbed.
2. Martis goes up for corner and clashes with Wheater and the Boro keeper. Goes down holding his head. Trainer comes on so pause for commentator babble: "Well I'm not sure what happened there but the referee hasn't given a foul. (Raises his voice quizzically as replay is shown) "Weeelllll, seems to have caught a nasty clout from his own goalkeeper"
3. "Zuiverloon nearly away again there - he's having such a good game in midfield".

Mind you, number three in hindsight was probably stunningly accurate! Good job Boro never spotted it!