West Bromwich Albion equalled their highest result against Barnsley with a 7-0 victory to cement a place in this seasons Championship Play-Offs.
Veteran striker Kevin Phillips netted a hat-tick as the Baggies as Albion recorded a 7-0 victory at the Hawthorns over Championship rivals Barnsley. The result equalled the same score line when the Baggies beat the Tykes 7-0 on 11 November 1989 in the old Division Two.
Albion will now face Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Play-Off semi-finals in a mouth watering Midlands Derby whilst 3rd placed Derby County will meet 6th placed Southampton.
Sunderland, who won 5-0 at Luton Town was announced as league Champions with Birmingham City losing at Preston North End. Luton Town, Leeds United and Southend United are relegated to League One.
The Baggies recorded there seven goal mauling with goals from Nathan Ellington (2), Kevin Phillips (3), Robert Koran and Zoltan Gera. Not that the result will matter to the 1,000 visiting supporters after securing their Championship status last week. And, not to take anything away from this magnificent win I’m quite sure the result would have been different had Barnsley needed to pick up points to stay up.
Former Aston Villa striker Kevin Phillips hammered a fantastic hat-tick as netted the opener on 20 minutes before setting up Nathan Ellington.
Albion added a fourth via Robert Koren who was Man of the Match six minutes before half-time, but it was Phillips, the former England international who stole the show.
The 33 year old added his second when he drove home from 25 yards and completed his hat-tick with 20 minutes remaining of the game.
Hungarian Zoltan Gera then added a seventh as the game entered its twilight, but fourth place had long since been secured.
The result, West Brom’s 22nd win of the season, eclipsed the six goals Southampton put past Wolves as the division’s biggest winning margin of the season and it looked likely from the outset.
Just 24 seconds had been clocked when the hosts demonstrated their intentions, Ellington thumping an angled drive at Neil Austin.
It was an aggressive opening, but tame in comparison to what was to come as the Baggies pinned their opponents inside their own penalty area with wave upon wave of attack.
Chief architect of the assault was Phillips, whose subtle running and distribution ripped the Tykes’ backline to shreds, while Koren was never far away to finish the moves.
Indeed the duo linked up in the fifth minute to provide Barnsley with their first real scare of the afternoon, Phillips meandering into the area before laying off for Koren to blast marginally wide.
It was a near miss, but the intensity was building and so was the sense of inevitability when Sam Sodje, eyeing Jason Koumas’ corner, outjumped the defence and brought a fine fingertip save from David Lucas with a downward header.
Ellington then missed a headed chance as the game entered its eight minute, but then the pressure finally told and West Brom got their breakthrough 12 minutes later.
Paul McShane did the leg work, beating his marker on the flank, before squaring for Phillips to turn and produce a neat finish.
Home fans had to wait little more than three minutes for a second, Koren winning a penalty which Ellington coolly slid past Lucas, while the striker made it three nine minutes before the break, looping Dean Kiely’s goalkick over Bobby Hassell and rolling the ball beyond Lucas.
In between Barnsley hinted they were in a contest when Daniel Nardiello, who scored six times in the five games leading up to today, saw his deflected drive go over and Hassell had an effort well saved.
But it was tame opposition in the face of an onslaught and Koren, meeting Jonathan Greening’s cross, rounded off a sublime half with West Brom’s fourth six minutes before the break.
The change of end did not herald a change of fortune for Barnsley, who, having already seen Koumas, Ellington and Phillips add near misses to Koren’s crossbar-bound drive, conceded a fifth in the 53rd minute.
Not surprisingly, Ellington and Phillips were involved, the former rolling the ball to Phillips to smash his 15th goal of the season from the edge of the area.
Nardiello then came close with a freekick as Barnsley sought a consolation, but West Brom had long since reduced the pace with an eye on the play-offs.
Koumas, voted in the Championship Team of the Year, came off for Zoltan Gera, Ellington made way for Sherjill MacDonald and McShane gave his place to Jared Hodgkiss as the Baggies cruised through the second-half.
The reduced tempo did not, however, mean an end to the scoring as Phillips, making the most of Gera’s hard work, found space in the area 20 minutes before full time and slotted his hat-trick.
Gera himself added a seventh, turning MacDonald’s 74th minute cross past Lucas with a neat finish, while Koren nearly added a superb eighth but saw his solo effort well fielded by Lucas.
Baggies: Kiely, McShane (Hodgkiss 46), Perry, Sodje, Robinson, Greening, Chaplow, Koren, Koumas (Gera 54), Ellington (MacDonald 62), Phillips.
Subs Not Used: Daniels, Albrechtsen.
Goals: Phillips 21, Ellington 25 pen, 36, Koren 40, Phillips 53, 71, Gera 75.
Tykes: Lucas, Austin, Atkinson, Potter, Hassell, Devaney (McCann 57), Howard, Togwell (Heslop 63), Kyel Reid, Nardiello, Ferenczi (Rajczi 57).
Subs Not Used: Colgan, Heckingbottom.
Share this article
