ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: West Bromwich 0 Liverpool 2:IF WEST Bromwich Albion's players reacted to defensive mistakes in the same way as Rafael Benitez' team, Tony Mowbray would have spent most of the season trying to keep the peace at The Hawthorns.

Jamie Carragher confronted and pushed his team-mate Alvaro Arbeloa in the chest 10 minutes from time and a few of the Albion players must have felt like responding in the same way when Shelton Martis presented Steven Gerrard with Liverpool’s opening goal.

It was the sort of individual error that has been commonplace at Albion this season and, although Mowbray’s players responded courageously to the setback, the damage was done and the seeds of a defeat that would condemn the Midlands club to their third relegation in seven seasons were sown.

Dirk Kuyt added a second midway through the second half and the feeling that this was not going to be Albion’s day was reinforced when the substitute Luke Moore drilled against the upright and Marc-Antoine Fortune headed over an open goal within the space of a few seconds late on.

And therein lies the story of Albion’s season: not good enough up front and always susceptible to a moment of madness at the back.

Neither weakness mattered too much in the Championship but the Premier League is a far more unforgiving environment and Albion, for all their neat approach work and admirable attempts to survive in the top flight by playing football, have paid a heavy price for their failure to address their shortcomings at both ends of the field. Mowbray admitted as much afterwards as he reflected on a return to the Championship.

“The overriding thought is one of disappointment for the supporters because we have been relegated,” the Albion manager said. “There is frustration as well because I think today really epitomised our season. There was a lot of good play, plenty of chances and yet we give the opposition a goal for nothing. That’s us really and the frustration is that I think we are a better team now than we have been for much of the season. We’ve learned lessons along the way and hopefully we can use those next season in the Championship.”

Liverpool might have been deflated in the wake of Manchester United winning the title 24 hours earlier but Gerrard does not pass up the kind of chance that Martis presented in the 28th minute.

The former Hibernian defender seemed to think he had all the time in the world when he received a square pass from Jonas Olsson and turned inside with a heavy touch. Gerrard, however, was breathing down his neck and within the blink of an eye the Liverpool captain had pilfered possession and dinked the ball over Dean Kiely for his 24th goal of the season.

It was a faux pas in keeping with the goal he had presented Stoke with last month and, with that in mind, it was little surprise that Mowbray wore the pained expression of a manager who had seen it all before. The best part of 28 minutes of hard work had gone to waste and Albion’s hitherto impressive midfield was left to pick up the pieces and try to regain the momentum that had seen Jonathan Greening trouble Pepe Reina twice within a matter of seconds inside the first five minutes.

That they managed to do so and continue to make life uncomfortable for Liverpool was a credit to Mowbray’s players.

Even after Kuyt converted his 15th goal of the season, the Dutchman running across the face of the Albion defence before arrowing a low 18-yard drive beyond Kiely and into the bottom corner, the home side refused to accept defeat.

Their cavalier approach invited the visitors to grab a third goal, with Kiely stretching every sinew to deny Lucas Leiva at his near post following another fine Gerrard through-ball, but Albion were not without their own chances as they cranked up the pressure on the Liverpool defence.

Relegation is a depressingly familiar feeling in these parts but the standing ovation Mowbray and his players received at the final whistle suggested that their efforts this season had been recognised. “My job is to keep trying to build and I think there’s a solid base that we can keep together,” added Albion’s manager. “Hopefully we can add the right bits and come back.”

Guardian Service