West Bromwich Albion - 2 (Moore 15. Taylor 52.)
Crystal Palace - 0

Our 50th game of the season (including cup fixtures) came and went with hardly a whimper. Admittedly there was little for Palace to play for other than pride, but it seems that was not enough, as the desire to win was obviously far greater in the hearts of the Baggies. They needed to win this match to ensure automatic promotion, and having achieved that we all wish them the very best for their forthcoming adventures in the Premier League. Let's hope that, along with Manchester City, Norwich City accompany them on their journey come the end of the play-offs.

As for Palace, well, we go on to another season at Division One level, and hopefully our turn will come at the end of next season. Based on the progress made this season compared to last it should not be beyond our capabilities. Maybe we will need to strengthen a couple of positions, maybe we shall need to look at management techniques; maybe the Chairman, Simon Jordan, will give us the answers come Monday night at the fan's forum? As usual, we the supporters, await news on these and many other matters concerning our Club, and the news of our off-season "friendlies" should be at least a small morsel that we can "digest" as we await the fixture list for next term.

The match got underway, and within the first minute Daniele Dichio managed to get himself caught offside. Clinton Morrison then got a cross into the area, the danger being cleared by Derek McInnes. A free kick to Palace led to a brilliant shot on goal by Danny Granville, the keeper just managing to tip the effort over the top, and away for a corner. Simon Rodger steered the corner into the penalty area, Dean Austin got his head to the ball, but the defence was equal to the task, and our opportunity was gone.

A couple of wide attempts followed by the home side that caused little trouble to Alex Kolinko in goal, but then Bob Taylor fired in an effort that all the Palace faithful were pleased to see go just wide. Another shot, just wide, this time from McInnes, started to point to the fact that West Brom were nothing if not serious about taking the full three points from this game, and to underline the fact Neil Clement fired in an identical shot with the identical result, it went just wide.

Simon then cleared the next attempt, but the home attack was not to be denied for much longer. A free kick taken by McInnes found Darren Moore only a few yards from the goal line, and he simply slotted the ball into the back of the net. Ade Akinbiyi then got caught offside before Adam Chambers drilled another shot just wide of the left upright, and then at the other end it was Clinton's turn to be offside. Palace forced another corner, but again the defence beat the ball away, and almost immediately at the other end a free kick saw Clement hit the wall with an attempt that looked dangerous for a moment.

A cross goalwards by Igor Balis was well cut out by Alex, then Danny sent in a long-range shot that whistled over the bar, causing the home side to take a moment to reflect on what might have been. A final shot, this time on target by the Baggies saw a great save by Alex, denying Bob Taylor the luxury of sending the home side to the break two goals up; and as the whistle went the huge crowd cheered the home side all the way in. Immediately on commencement of the second half Clinton managed, once again, to get caught offside, and following a foul on Hayden Mullins Palace took the opportunity to replace Ade Akinbiyi, who had taken a knock in the first half, with Tommy Black. Alex saved another shot, this time from Balis, and then Taylor fired a shot over the top of the bar; and to round out a hectic few minutes for the Palace defence Tony Popovic had to clear the danger once again in our goalmouth.

A corner to Palace was well plucked out of the air by Russell Hoult, but then a free kick at the other end, though punched away by Alex, fell neatly to Taylor who made no mistake doubling the lead by simply forcing the ball home from close range. Last week's hero, Andrejs Rubins, then came on to replace Simon Rodger, but still the pressure came from the home side, this time Balis forcing Alex into yet another fine stop. A corner to Palace saw Aki Riihilahti drill a shot just wide, and then scorer Bob Taylor was replaced by Scott Dobie, presumably to shore up the defence a little. Palace immediately responded by making their final substitution of the game, taking Aki off and bringing Jovan Kirovski on.

A shot from Hayden went wide once more before another change in the home side line-up, this time Andy Johnson being replaced by that man with only one name - Jordao. A series of fouls ensued, with neither side seeming to make much ground; the best effort on goal falling to Tommy, but Clement was well aware of the situation, and the chance was cleared from the danger area.

As the clock ran down in the final game of the season it was somewhat amusing to see both sets of fans singing, albeit for different reasons, but the action was not over as yet.

Dobie was caught offside and the free kick was taken by Tony, resulting in the ball being pumped upfield, but just as quickly it was back again, and once more in the possession of Dobie. This time he was only a few yards out from our goal, but somehow Alex managed to block the shot and save the day from becoming an embarrassing one for our supporters.

As the appointed time passed for the end of the match West Brom deliberately slowed things down by making a final substitution, this time taking Daniele Dichio off and bringing Ruel Fox on. One can hardly blame them for this tactic, and in truth there was no way Palace were going to get back on level terms, but the move was accepted by the visiting supporters in good humour. The final kick of the match belonged to Alex, and as the whistle went the Baggies celebrated their promotion, and Palace simply congratulated the victors and headed off, ready to face the next season.

Colin Pryce

West Bromwich Albion: Russell Hoult, Igor Balis, Adam Chambers, Neil Clement, Phil Gilchrist, Darren Moore, Lanus Sigurdsson, Andy Johnson (Jordao 73), Derek McInnes, Daniele Dichio (Ruel Fox 90), Bob Taylor (Scott Dobie 66).

Substitutes not used: Andrew Petterson, Warren Cummings.

Crystal Palace: Alex Kolinko, Dean Austin, Curtis Fleming, Danny Granville, Hayden Mullins, Tony Popovic, David Hopkin, Aki Riihilahti (Jovan Kirovski 67), Simon Rodger (Andrejs Rubins 57), Ade Akinbiyi (Tommy Black 47), Clinton Morrison.

Substitutes not used: Cedric Carasso, Gregg Berhalter.

Attendance: 26,712

Referee: Mr E Wolstenholme (Blackburn)