West Bromwich Albion 2 Middlesbrough 0

Apr 18 2010 Sunday Sun

WEST BROM celebrated their promotion with some champagne football while Boro’s display was as flat as week-old lager.

Ashen-faced boss Gordon Strachan admitted the systematic dismantling of Boro’s play-off aspirations was “embarrassing” after a one-sided defeat in which the scoreline did not reflect Albion’s superiority.

The Teessiders kicked off knowing that only victory would do after results elsewhere swung the table decisively against them and left them with just slender hopes, but they dismally failed to meet the challenge.

They were out-fought and out-played by a buoyant Baggies side in a game that reflected the yawning gap that now exists between Boro and the other sides who were relegated from the Premiership with them last year.

On a day when Boro needed a determined display they slumped to a meek surrender.

But for keeper Brad Jones, Boro could easily have been battered far more comprehensively than the 5-0 reverse at the Riverside that first caused cracks to appear in their season.

Albion had the first chance after just three minutes when Barry Robson conceded a free-kick 40 yards out and when Chris Brunt’s ball in bounced around, it dropped invitingly in the six-yard box but keeper Brad Jones was down quickly to smother before the striker could pounce.

Boro won a free-kick of their own in the fifth minute after Chris Killen was impeded in mid-air and when Robson’s ball in was only scrambled as far as the edge of the box, Rhys Williams drilled a half-volley over the bar.

Boro almost caused their own problems on 12 minutes when a poor ball from Julio Arca played Gary O’Neil into trouble.

He was robbed 10 yards outside the box by Brunt, who quickly played a low ball in towards Roman Bednar arriving on the far side, but Jonathan Grounds stretched to cut out the danger.

And Albion almost fashioned the opener on 20 minutes after a Boro attack broke down and a ball was pumped quickly down the middle for Robert Koren to slot into the path of Simon Cox surging down the inside-right channel.

He sent in a stinging low drive that diving keeper Jones did well to parry. Then, as the ball rebounded to the edge of the box, Brunt blazed it just over.

A minute later Albion threatened again as another Koren ball sent Bednar racing into the box, but, as he shaped to shoot, alert Grounds just got a foot to the ball and it screwed up wildly leaving Jones to back-pedal.

And West Brom went close again on 25 minutes as Bednar chased a long ball down the right and, although Grounds did well to hold him up, he wriggled free to square to Brunt who had arrived on the edge of the box and his stinging low thunderbolt was blocked but fumbled by Jones who smothered at the second attempt.

And they went closer still on 29 minutes as speedy Koren robbed a sluggish Kyle Naughton on the right, then quickly pushed the ball to Bednar who twisted and turned to hold off three defenders before swivelling to hammer in a sizzling angled drive that came back off the underside of the bar.

Up at the other end in a rare foray forward, Robson weaved across the edge of the box looking for a space to get in a shot before his predictable effort was finally charged down by Marek Cech.

The Albion pressure mounted again as Bednar powered a close-range header straight at Jones from a long throw, then soon after Graham Dorrans cut in from the left to sent a low angled effort fizzing wide of the far post.