Burnley 3 Albion 1 - analysis

As if a fourth round defeat to a lower-ranked side was not depressing enough for Tony Mowbray's men, they might have paid an even heavier cost for their Cup exertions.

A Steven Thompson double and a fantastic Wade Elliott strike made the makeshift Baggies the latest Premier League scalp in an extraordinary season of cup heroics for Owen Coyle's Clarets.

Yet arguably more worrying for Mowbray and Co was the sight of on-loan youngster Jay Simpson limping off with a hamstring problem before half-time.

While losing on a freezing cold night in Lancashire will hurt the Baggies for a day or two, the potential loss of Simpson for the crucial clash with Newcastle on Saturday could have effects that last a good deal longer.

With home matches running out in the Premier League campaign, every encounter with a fellow struggler at The Hawthorns has taken on major significance.

The Baggies need their top players on duty for every such occasion. And, right now, 20-year-old Simpson is just about as good as they have.

Mowbray will have fingers crossed that Simpson is a quick healer. But the manager will fear the worst for this weekend's meeting with the Magpies.

For all the joy of last season's progress to the semi-finals, a large part of Mowbray must have been delighted to see the back of this season's FA Cup last night. In the space of 10 days the same tie has now claimed the fitness of his influential captain and now his most potent attacker.

Even for a club so historically entwined with the FA Cup as Albion, the grand old competition can sometimes be more trouble than it is worth.

This season was one such time, as Mowbray will no doubt reflect if he glances into his club's treatment room this afternoon.

He might also curse his luck when he considers Simpson's injury. On an evening where more than half of his first team regulars were either left at home or "rested" on the bench, it was sod's law that one of the key men who did play should end the night injured.

At least his players were spared an energy-sapping period of extra time. And, although they played some excellent football at times, his second-string side never truly looked likely to fight back once they went 2-0 behind seven minutes into the second half.

They were not embarrassed by Owen Coyle's giant-killing experts. The Baggies dominated the first half with some pleasing play, especially in a new-look midfield in which first-time starter Graham Dorrans was outstanding for 45 minutes.

But, as so often this season in more important games than this, they lacked the cutting edge to turn style into substance.

Albion made a decent start and threatened in the opening three minutes when a lofted ball forward from Filipe Teixeira was nodded down by Roman Bednar into the path of Simpson.

But the youngster screwed his shot wide of Brian Jensen's goal.

A tremendous piece of trickery from Dorrans took him past Graham Alexander and set up Bednar on the left flank.

But the striker's cross was poor and the ball ran for a goal-kick. Bednar was involved again moments later when he met Marek Cech's teasing cross from the left but headed wide under pressure from Michael Duff.

After a quiet few minutes Albion threatened again when Fortuné won a dubious free-kick on the left and Dorrans' set-piece was cleared as far as Simpson.

He teed up Zuiverloon but he screwed his shot wide from the edge of the area.

Blake was looking Burnley's most threatening figure and he went close just before the half-hour with a fine free-kick.

He was fouled by Zuiverloon and picked himself up to curl a long-range effort just over Scott Carson's crossbar.

Albion's most worrying moment of the first period came with seven minutes to go to half-time when Simpson limped off to be replaced by Chris Brunt.

But they continued to press and on the stroke of half-time came Albion's best chance of the half from a corner by Dorrans. It was flicked on by Marc-Antoine Fortuné and broke to Ryan Donk, but his header was saved on the line by Brian Jensen.

And in stoppage time the home side went ahead out of nothing as Jensen's long clearance was headed out tamely by Donk and Elliott connected with a fine volley that dipped in over Carson. That was the final incident of the first half and it was Albion who began the second half on the front foot with Bednar heading wide wastefully from Teixeira's cross.

Bednar was guilty again moments later of making a poor contact when Zuiverloon's cross found him on the goalline but it ran away from the Baggies frontman.

However, the game looked to be done and dusted eight minutes into the second half when the home side added a second.

A left-wing cross from Christian Kalvenes caught Carson in no man's land and, although Paterson's header was blocked by Donk, it rebounded for Thompson to score.

Moments later Donk headed straight at Jensen from a cross by Cech as Albion increased the tempo.

And they did give themselves fresh hope on the hour when some neat passing on the edge of the box ended with Chris Brunt feeding Zuiverloon, who fired home precisely across the face of goal and inside the base of the far post.

With 70 minutes gone the home side should have sewn up the win when Blake's free-kick from distance was spilled by Carson and it broke for Paterson. But his touch let him down and his eventual shot was blocked by a combination of Carson and Donk.

Zuiverloon was looking a threat after switching to a wide right role following Teixeira's departure and he raced well to collect a ball from Fortuné but Jensen did well to collect at the feet of the Dutchman.

And defeat was finally sealed with three minutes remaining as the veteran Blake carved out the third Burnley goal.

He tied Donk up in knots before delivering a delayed cross to the feet of Thompson for a simple tap-in.

By Steve Madeley.