00:00Buggies fans, welcome to ExpressAndStartup.com, my name is Jonny Drewy, I'm here with Lewis
00:12Cox at a, not baking hot, but pretty hot, awful instill at, what is it, quarter to eleven
00:18on a Tuesday night, and a few Albion fans who were stewing, steaming, leaving the ground
00:23tonight. 1-1 draw, last gasp equaliser for Derby in a game where Albion didn't play pretty
00:28well to be honest, should have killed the game off, came back to Biden and lost 3-2 on
00:33penalties. Coxie, largely a good display, we'll go into the ins and outs of it tomorrow, we've
00:39got a baggage broadcaster ringing, but a largely good display, a game on another night at Albion
00:44could, and maybe should have won 2 or 3-0, but sat here having lost on penalties, been
00:48kind of bitten on the backside, and maybe just a little bit of a harsh lesson for some
00:52of them players tonight that you need to kill off games.
00:54Yeah yeah yeah, I think a slightly similar theme to Saturday, albeit it was a good win
00:59on Saturday, a good performance and a deserved win, and I think it would have been a deserved
01:02win tonight. That one goal thing, you know, on both occasions, Saturday and tonight, Albion
01:07created enough to have put the game to bed, obviously didn't cost them on Saturday, could
01:12have, but didn't. I wouldn't say got away with it, deserved it on Saturday, deserved it tonight,
01:17but not one goal, it's never done, it's never done, and by the way, Albion were comfortably, I was going to say miles
01:26better than Derby tonight, I think they were, I think they took the time more seriously, named a more senior
01:30side, but for that dominance, chances created, should have scored more, had some decent efforts, but were there
01:40enough clear chances, I don't necessarily know, I have to look at the stats.
01:44I think they did enough to win the game, I'd say it's never done until it's done.
01:48No, the harsh lesson point is a good one, I think, you know, and I'm sure maybe privately
01:52Ryan Mason would go along with that, he referenced in his press conference with me just there that,
01:57you know, could have got more goals and obviously that would have put it to bed, in the end it's frustration
02:01because, as he said, he really wanted to win this, you can see that by his team selection, he said it,
02:05it starts up with two home games just to build up that feel good factor of a new head coach,
02:09they really wanted to win, as we said the other day, and it's really frustrating the manner of it, isn't it,
02:14and fans want a cuff run, you know, without one for so long, they really want one, to have it snatched away
02:19in the 96 minute like that, I mean, as soon as a 96 minute goal goes in, it's painfully obvious
02:24what's going to happen in the penalty shootout, isn't it, you know, anyone ever now being there,
02:28in perspective knows that, and that's where it went.
02:31Yeah, some poor penalties, you know, Joe Wildsmith did get him back in it, but ultimately,
02:36bow out on spot kicks, there were positives in the game which, as I said, will come on to tomorrow,
02:41you know, debutants, a very young debutant in Alex Weasley, did very well, you know,
02:45could you say overall, Coxie, I know Albion fans are going to have to wait now for their next bite at a cup run,
02:51you know, until January, but what Ryan Mason showed tonight, yes, it's the start of the season, but, you know,
02:56you know, unlike maybe a few managers that have gone before him, you know,
03:01a few obvious ones spring to mind, you know, he fancies the cups and tonight,
03:06he put a strong side out, kind of dominated Derby for large parts, but credit to Derby, they stuck in there,
03:11Albion should have killed it off, but, you know, his intention was there that Albion,
03:15under Ryan Mason, if they can, are going to take cup games more seriously.
03:20I think that, yeah, I think you can take that, which I know a lot of fans liked, you know,
03:25the response to the team selection, I think the bigger point maybe tonight is that,
03:30Albion, in my opinion, I don't know if you agree, they don't have a big squad at the moment, do they?
03:35I think, really, we know that there's, what, three weeks, three and a bit weeks left under the window,
03:40you know, they want to do work, you know, they could be, you know, an outgoing,
03:43a significant outgoing potentially in Hagen, so there's a lot to do in some departments of the squad,
03:47add to that injuries, you know, a couple out missing, aren't there?
03:50There's one suspended tonight, a couple missing for at least another month, so, you know,
03:56Mason knows, you know, he said and he knows, he needs the squad really, because clearly, you know,
04:02you can never rely on 11, 12, 13, can you really, because it'll come and bite you on the backside,
04:06it doesn't last, it's all well and good if it lasts for a couple of months and you don't make any changes,
04:10do you remember, was it last season, early on, when Albion were playing the same team?
04:13For ages, it just, it doesn't last, it was the start of last season, yeah.
04:17And when you lie, you know, you don't have too many options to go to,
04:22he had to have a look at them tonight, I mean, I'll be writing up in a second,
04:25but he just said to me, yes, yes, sort of no doubt about what these players can bring
04:29and sort of pack them in that way.
04:31And I thought, to be honest, I thought everyone, you know, from young Alex Williams handed a debut
04:36at right back, across the board really, I mean, look, we'll get onto it in the podcast tomorrow,
04:41but Joe Wildsman think, oh, he shouldn't be beaten from that free kick, I don't think.
04:44That was my view of it, I've seen some fans say the same, wide angle, it's looped in over him.
04:49Caleb Taylor's another who gave the free kick away in the first place,
04:51a bit of rashness from a young defender, shouldn't have to do it,
04:54but I thought Taylor was really good before that, others were really good,
04:57I thought Diakite coming in, mentioning young Williams, George Campbell on his full debut.
05:01I think, what I'm saying is he's been able to use that squad, test that squad tonight,
05:06and I think, regardless of how it ended, the performance-wise, he'd have been quite encouraged
05:11by what he'd have seen from those names I've mentioned there, outfield players,
05:16and, you know, does he think to himself right now, if one of those has to start in the championship,
05:20I'm feeling pretty okay about that, pretty encouraged.
05:22So I think that's the main thing at the minute, rather than how he sees the Cups.
05:26But yeah, you know, hopefully come January in the FA Cup third round, we see similar.
05:30It's just irritating, isn't it? And I feel for fans, because, you know, in the wide scheme,
05:34this is low down the priority listing, it's very low key tonight, isn't it?
05:37What was it, 6,000, 7,000 here? But everyone wanted to see Albion win,
05:41and that feel-good winning feeling continued, they deserved it, and the manner of it is frustrating.
05:48Frustrating, to say the least, Albion out of the EFL Cup, back to championship action,
05:53at the weekend, final score, 1-1, Derby 3-2, and penalties.
05:56For all the rest of your reaction, head to expressionstar.com.
Comments