Grant Leadbitter’s second half penalty was enough to give the Blues a 1-0 Carling Cup quarter-final victory over West Brom at Portman Road and send Town into the semi-finals for the first time in a decade. It could have been a more comfortable victory with the Blues missing a number of other chances and having a first half penalty turned down.

Boss Roy Keane kept his promise to field youngsters with Troy Brown alongside Tommy Smith at centre-half and Reggie Lambe coming into the side on the left of midfield. Elsewhere, Darren O’Dea hadn’t been called back to Glasgow and his expectant girlfriend and was at left-back, while Jaime Peters was on the right of the defence.

Andros Townsend was also back in a four man midfield, on the right, with Jason Scotland playing behind Tamás Priskin up front. Keeper Brian Murphy kept his record of playing in all Town’s Carling Cup games this season.

West Brom made nine changes from the side which beat Everton 4-1 on Saturday with 18-year-old right-back James Hurst handed his debut.

In freezing cold conditions and with the lines on the pitch painted an appropriate blue, Town almost went ahead with the game’s first attack. Priskin cut in from the right and sent in a low cross which Norris diverted over the bar at the near post when he should have hit the target.

The Baggies went similarly near with their first chance in the fourth minute, Marc-Antoine Fortuné hitting a shot from the edge of the box, which Brian Murphy pushed wide.

In the 11th minute a spell of Town passing ended with Scotland playing in Priskin, who was challenged by Pablo Ibanez just as he was unleashing his shot eight yards out.

The Blues should have gone ahead on the quarter-hour mark. The impressive Priskin made a meandering run down the right before cutting in and leaving Ibanez on his backside. The Hungarian laid the ball back to Scotland, whose low shot was too close to keeper Boaz Myhill.

It had been a great opportunity for the Blues to go in front and a lead wouldn’t have flattered Roy Keane’s side on the balance of the opening sixth of the match.

The visitors might have gone in front in the 19th minute when Brown was caught out by Hurst’s long ball and Giles Barnes was allowed a shot, which Murphy pushed around the post. From the corner, Simon Cox headed straight at Murphy.

Graham Dorrans forced Murphy to push his shot wide on 21 then Cox went close when he looped over the bar with the Town goal gaping after a poor Murphy punch. Soon after, Priskin was narrowly given offside by the linesman twice in quick succession having narrowly failed to latch on to Scotland passes.

The Blues felt they ought to have been awarded a penalty in the 23rd minute when Steven Reid kicked the ball against his own hand when clearing, but referee Mike Jones instead gave a corner, from which Town again nearly scored.

Scotland and Lambe had failed to get in strikes before the ball broke wide to Leadbitter on the right, the ex-Sunderland man hitting a low shot which Myhill push just beyond the on-rushing Smith.

On 34 Leadbitter looped a freekick to Myhill after Cox had fouled Norris, then at the other end Barnes couldn’t direct Tchoyi’s cross from the left goalwards. Moments later, Priskin shot weakly on the turn to Myhill, Scotland failing to beat the former Hull man to the ball.

The Blues were continuing to threaten and in the 39th minute had what looked to be a certain penalty denied them by referee Jones. Jaime Peters had made a run forward and eventually played in Priskin to the right of goal. The Hungarian took a touch past Myhill and the keeper sent him to ground for what appeared an obvious spotkick, only for Mr Jones to wave away the protests.

The referee did little to improve his standing with the Town support when he booked Troy Brown for a foul on Tchoyi a minute later.

It was Mr Jones who was on the end of the boos from the very sparse Town crowd at the whistle, the penalty having looked as stonewall as they come. The Blues had a number of other opportunities in a half in which they more than matched the much-changed Premier League side.

Carlos Edwards replaced the quiet Reggie Lambe after the break and it was the Blues who struck the second period’s first shot, Scotland’s effort flying across the face of Myhill’s goal. For the Baggies, Cox turned a cross from the left wide of Murphy’s goal from the edge of the area.

On 53 Scotland sent Edwards away on space on the right sand his fellow Trinidad and Tobago international sent in a cross which just evaded Priskin on the edge of the six-yard box with Ibanez continuing to look shaky at the back for the visitors.

Town spurned another good chance in the 62nd minute when Townsend lobbed the ball in from the left and Priskin nodded over when he might have done better.

On 65 the Blues switched the busy Andros Townsend for Shane O’Connor, the decision receiving a few chants of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ from sections of the Sir Bobby Robson Stand.

The Blues finally got the goal they deserved in the 69th minute. Edwards cut in from the right and was felled by Dorrans just as he entered the penalty area. This time referee Jones had no doubt and Grant Leadbitter hit the net from the spot, beating Myhill to his right, having netted a spotkick in the league fixture between the clubs at Portman Road last season.

Smith headed over from a Leadbitter corner, then Ishmael Miller was sent on in place of Fortuné, who had largely been kept in check by the Town defence.

The Blues were continuing to pose the greater threat and on 73 Myhill was out quickly to clear ahead of Priskin.

Town almost went two in front in the 77th minute when Scotland turned Leadbitter’s corner goalwards, only to strike Priskin’s heels. Within a minute Priskin himself had gone close, his overhead kick hitting a defender.

West Brom weren’t far from an equaliser in the 82nd minute when Cox hit shot on the turn, which deflected over.

The Baggies were finally starting to make some impression in the Town area and in the 84th minute Tchoyi crossed from the right, Ibanez headed goalwards and Murphy made a superb instinctive save at his near post.

However, the Blues were looking dangerous on the break and on 86 Priskin volleyed high and wide after an Edwards break. The Hungarian was booked on 87 for a foul.

Colin Healy replaced Jason Scotland for the final minute, prior to Grant Leadbitter just failing to get a touch to Priskin’s low cross from the right with the Blues continuing to look more likely to score than the visitors.

Healy played in Priskin in the final moments of three minutes of injury time with the Hungarian this time onside but the ball got trapped under his feet.

Seconds later the whistle went and the Portman Road crowd celebrated the Blues’ first Carling Cup semi-final for 10 years.

Town fully deserved to go through having put in probably their best performance of the season, creating far more opportunities than the Premier League side.

In the end it could have been even more comfortable with plenty of chances wasted after Leadbitter’s winning penalty.

After a week of doom and gloom in the wake of the defeat at Norwich, the Blues now find themselves two games away from a Wembley final and Roy Keane’s Town future appears at least slightly more secure.

Town: Murphy, Peters, O’Dea, Smith, Brown, Norris, Leadbitter, Lambe (Edwards 46), Townsend (O’Connor 65), Scotland (Healy 89), Priskin. Unused: Lee-Barrett, Eastman, Civelli, Murray.

West Brom: Myhill, Hurst, Meite, Ibanez, Cech, S Reid, Dorrans, Barnes, Cox, Tchoyi, Fortuné (Miller 72). Unused: Carson, Tamas, Morrison, Thomas, Jara, Berahino. Referee: Mike Jones (Chester). Att: 11,363 (West Brom: 1,106).

Story syndicated from TWTD.co.uk

Photo: Action Images

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