Dermot Gallagher thinks Birmingham City’s Friday night victory over West Brom was lucky to include a penalty.
Replays proved that Cedric Kipre won the ball, thus Dermot Gallagher feels that West Brom were unfortunate to give up a contentious penalty and that it should have been a goal kick instead.
Angered by the choice, Carlos Corberan criticized the referee and asserted that Albion had more than 11 players in their lineup.Even if the penalty judgment was incorrect, it shouldn’t conceal the reality that West Brom needed to change their mindset since they weren’t good enough.
Dermot Gallagher revealed he thinks West Brom were unfortunate to concede a penalty in their 3-1 defeat to Birmingham City on Friday night.
Albion had taken a 1-0 lead at St. Andrew’s thanks to a goal from John Swift, and they were feeling rather secure at the time. However, midway through the first half, Blues had a penalty kick opportunity to tie the score.
After a challenge on the forward, Cedric Kipre was ruled to have fouled Koji Miyoshi, despite the fact that replays showed the Baggies center-back won the ball and it actually bounced back off the Blues player, making it a goal kick instead.
However, Juninho Bacuna successfully scored the penalty after referee James Linnington had pointed to the spot.
Carlos Corberan’s team began to lose control of the game after that, and the hosts went on to win all three points on the strength of goals from Dion Sanderson and Gary Gardner.
After the game, Corberan was unable to contain his rage at the decision as he criticized the referee and even claimed that Albion faced more than 11 players that night at St. Andrew’s.
On Sky Sports’ Ref Watch, veteran Premier League official Gallagher discussed the event and said he didn’t think it should have been ruled a penalty.
“Stephen (Warnock) and I discussed this before, and there are plenty of hints. The fact that only one Birmingham player asks for anything—a corner—provides the key.
“I initially believed the referee had awarded a goal kick when he pointed because I believe he slipped. I get the goal kick when the Birmingham player slips, Kipre slides into him, and I get the ball with one foot.
Fans of Albion won’t find solace in hearing this because the game is over and they lost, and there’s no doubting that it was a highly unexpected choice.
The defender appeared to have won the ball as it was being shown live, but replays revealed that Miyoshi had really received it.
Consequently, the rage was understandable, but it shouldn’t overshadow the reality that Albion fell short.
While it’s understandable that the penalty may hit the players right away, there was still a lot of football left to play, and the team should have had a stronger attitude to bounce back from an unfair judgment made against them.
Albion’s winning streak came to an end with the defeat, and it’s a shame that it happened during the break as they won’t have time to bounce back right away.
While overall Corberan’s team is in a respectable position at this early point, they are aware that they must improve over the next few weeks and months if they are to continue a serious drive for the top six, which must be the goal.
On October 21, Albion will host Plymouth at The Hawthorns to resume play.
