West Bromwich Albion 0 - Port Vale 0

AET; Albion win 5-3 on penalties

Date:	Tuesday 25th August 2015
Competition:	League Cup (R2)
WBA:	Myhill, Chester, McAuley, Olsson, Brunt (Dawson, 12), Gnabry (Rondón, 57), Yacob, Fletcher, McClean, Lambert, Ideye (McManaman, 57) Unused subs: Rose, Gardner, Sessegnon, Anichebe
Port Vale:
Referee:	Keith Stroud (Hampshire)
Attendance:	13,915

Summary:

In what must surely have been the most tedious game of the night, Albion were held to a goalless draw at home by Port Vale in the League Cup despite starting the game with a strong lineup - from Sunday's game against Chelsea it was only James Morrison who was left out altogether although Craig Dawson, Salomon Rondon and Callum McManaman dropped to the bench and starts were handed to James Chester, Rickie Lambert, Brown Ideye and Serge Gnabry. Dawson, however, was back in action after just twelve minutes when Chris Brunt had to be substituted due to injury. Saido Berahino and Joleon Lescott were omitted altogether with two bids from Spurs and a transfer request now having been rejected for the one and speculation growing over departure of the other.

A second half double substitution saw McManaman and Rondon replace Gnabry and Ideye, but despite having the greater share of possession and 19 shots on goal, the best chance probably being Rondon's shot onto the crossbar, the game went to extra time and penalties. Albion put away all five thanks to Lambert, Claudio Yacob, McManaman, Darren Fletcher and Chester but Richard Duffy missed for Port Vale and saw his side miss out on a trip to Norwich in the next round.

Well, it's a win. Of sorts.

Kev Buckley:

Piss Poor Premiership Prima Donnas Pip Port Vale on Penalties

Do not be fooled by the flurry of late chances that, from my seat near the back of the Smethwick, at least brought a small degree of "exhilarationl", because at least two of them were only chances because they had taken huge deflections from their original "hail mary desparation, we can hit them from anywhere" trrajectoies.

If this wasn't the poorest Albion performance i have seen, then not only must it come close (Watford away in the FA Cup a good while back?) but it also contained some prime contenders in the category of the worst individual performance by a player in an Albion shrt as well.

The "spine" of the side, Olsson, Fletcher, Lambert, all "experienced pros", albeit perhaps with their best years behind them now, not that that's a problem in a Pulis Albion, would have had a hard time passing water, let alone passing to a team mate, with Lambert's first touch at times simply shocking.

But it would be unfair to single those three out as I lost count of the number of long balls, from Myhill at back to the front that simply sailed out of play or went no-where near a Albion player.

But yes, their "going through the motions for the money" attempts to implement the "Pulis Plan" did see us through to a clean sheet against a Port Vale side, for whom Pulis will probably claim that this was their Cup Final, blah, blah, blah, but at times Vale were made to look like Chelsea, so uninhibitied, by any Albion pressure on the ball, was thier passing and movement.

The sight of Dawson - who once looked a decent young prospect at centre half along side the soon be placed into the not-good-enough for-the Albion bin, Lescott - on for an injured Brunt, having to drag an opponent to ground as he got beaten yet again was not only comical, because he nearly failed to drag the bloke down, but also somewhat soul destroying.

But what of the times when we did briefly have the ball under control and in our possesion, well Pulis had a plan and it appears to be the long diagonal ball for someone to try and run onto or try and knock down. Thsi tactic can work, but not when the strikers rarely win the ball to knock it down; don't have anyone coming through the middle to knock it down to and, when runnig with it, are so far ahead of the rest of the side, they get get crowded out. We've been here before: it was shite then and it is shite now.

At times the two wingers played some neat two touch stuff but then often fell over the ball when trying to make the third touch, and as for any creativity through the middle, well Fletcher and Yacob mostly passed it back to Olsson so that he add to his misplaced pass tally, or just added to their own with similiar efforts.

Why Berahino would want to stick around and be a part of this dross week after week, because let's face it, we are going to see a lot of this, is beyond me, so what about the likely line leader in Rondon.

Well, after coming on as sub, though why Lambert stayed on and Brown went oiff is also puzzling, he did put himself about a bit, winning a few balls that no-one was far up the pitch enough to get to and ran willingly into the chanels until his isolation brought an end to any potential development of the move, however, he also snatched at, and sliced horribly, a chance that you'ld expect a 12m player to at least get on target.

Similarly, Gnabry also had flashes of potential but, when every one of your teammates are incapbale of keeping the ball for more than three or four passes in any given move, he simply wasn't on the ball enough but then no Albion player was.

Then again, 120 mins of football plus all the drama of a penalty shoot out for Ten Pounds - no doubt there'll be those who went away more than happy and will be looking forwards to more of the same.