Football: Gascoigne proves indecisive

West Bromwich Albion 2 Quinn pen 22, 47 Middlesbrough 1 Branca 75 Attendance: 20,6

Nick Callow
Sunday 05 April 1998 00:02 BST
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AUTOMATIC promotion back to the Premiership is out of Middlesbrough's hands for the first time this season as yesterday's defeat by West Bromwich Albion leaves them four points adrift of the top two. And the automatic ability to win matches on his own is no longer at Paul Gascoigne's feet. Not yet, anyway.

Gascoigne, who has started less than a handful of games all year through injury and suspension, lacked a cutting edge and made his most significant contribution with a late, reckless tackle on West Brom's Sean Flynn. He was fortunate not to mark his first game in English League football for seven years with a red card. But he was not the only under-achiever in a side who lost to a team that had not won in their previous 10 matches.

The dejected Middlesbrough manager, Bryan Robson, conceded that they will have to rely on either Nottingham Forest or Sunderland slipping up to allow them back in at the top.

Robson said: "I thought Gazza was one of our better players; there were a few around him who let him down. Paul had composure on the ball but the rest were not making the most of his play. He is physically fit and has been doing extra training but he does need more matches to improve his match fitness."

West Brom fully deserved their win, their two goals coming from James Quinn - his first strikes since a recent move from Blackpool - and even a late reply by Marco Branca never really looked like leading to Middlesbrough salvaging a draw.

It was a surprising finish, though, because Middlesbrough had dominated the first 20 minutes and appeared to be a class above their opponents. Then a 22nd-minute penalty changed the course of the game.

Robbie Mustoe cleared a West Brom corner but then needlessly sent Matt Carbon flying in the same direction and Quinn scored with a well-placed shot after referee David Pugh had pointed to the penalty spot.

"Robbie regrets what he did," Robson said. "He said that he cleared the ball but was then pushed by their player and he reacted by tripping him."

Robson had lost one of his midfielders, Andy Townsend, through injury just before the goal and he made another switch at half-time when he withdrew the ineffective striker Mikkel Beck, sent on a defender in Curtis Fleming and pushed Paul Merson into a forward role.

But Quinn had scored his second goal before Robson could assess the success of his changes. Andy Hunt broke on the left, just two minutes into the second half, and hit a low cross which Quinn just managed to make sufficient contact with to score as he stretched to volley in from six yards.

Middlesbrough could not find a way back and Merson's game ended in the 68th minute when he twisted an ankle in the act of shooting wide from Boro's best chance since first falling behind. His replacement, Hamilton Ricard, missed an even better opportunity in injury time.

Branca finally scrambled a goal back in the 75th minute, just appearing to beat a West Brom defender to the ball in a crowded penalty area.

Gascoigne kicked the ball away in disgust as the final whistle blew, but he was no longer the centre of attention for the West Brom supporters, who had earlier subjected him to a barrage of taunts.

Now they were celebrating a notable scalp and that is the sort of passion Middlesbrough are going to face with their new man on board. Robson thinks they can handle it. Time will tell.

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