Albion 2 Newcastle 3 - analysis

Marc-Antoine Fortuné was fabulous; Blackburn, Stoke, Middlesbrough and Portsmouth lost; and it didn't snow.

With that taken care of, nothing is left but the grizzly inquest on a horrible day for Albion.

Many a charge has been levelled at the Baggies this season but even their loudest critics could not have labelled them 'shambolic'. Until Saturday.

In fact, the word did not begin to do justice to the chaos that ensued on a day that began with high hopes of another useful step towards Premier League safety against a Newcastle side embroiled in its own turmoil.

Even the dreadful pre-Christmas capitulation at Sunderland was less depressing than the defensive anarchy against the Magpies.

And the shocking display at the back could yet prove hugely costly for Tony Mowbray and his shell-shocked team.

With home matches against fellow strugglers running out, it was already likely that Albion would need a shock result – Hawthorns victory against Arsenal or Liverpool or a rare away win – to seal another great escape.

By shooting themselves in the foot time and again at home on Saturday, Mowbray's men have left themselves probably needing a minimum of two unexpected successes.

For the first time all season, The Hawthorns echoed to the sound of widespread booing at the end of a nightmare first half.

Even the semblance of a response after the break could not prevent another more muted show of disgust at the final whistle.

And the paying punters had every right to give voice to their grievances.

Fortuné aside, it is difficult to pick out anything that went right.

From the team selection gambles that backfired spectacularly on Mowbray, to the basic defensive failings of Abdoulaye Meite and Leon Barnett, to the physical weakness in central midfield to the lack of spark in the Newcastle box; there was trouble at every turn for the Baggies.

Given the litany of problems, things were never likely to turn out well. And, by God, they didn't.

Mowbray's lengthy list of injuries did not help. Defensive rock Jonas Olsson, midfield lynchpin Jonathan Greening and attacking spark Jay Simpson were all absent on the same day, leaving holes to fill.

Yet the awful attempts by some of the deputies to step in left those holes looking like gaping chasms.

And there was really no adequate excuse. Mowbray admitted afterwards that he recalled Meite and Barnett after injury specifically to deal with the power and height of Shola Ameobi.

His logic was impeccable and yet the results were woeful as the duo simply failed to execute the most basic duties of centre-backs. Teams unable to head the ball out of their own box have never done well in the Premier League.

In midfield the manager's decisions were harder to fathom but no less costly.

With Robert Koren shunted to the right and James Morrison pushed up front, Borja Valero and Kim Do-heon were left to patrol the middle of the park.

And, while Valero swam furiously and admirably against the tide, the duo were out-thought by the experienced Nicky Butt, out-run by the energy of Kevin Nolan and generally overpowered.

The result was a calamitous opening 45 minutes in which confusion reigned among both sets of defenders.

The Magpies were poor. But their hosts were comfortably worse.

The opening nine minutes epitomised the whole game. Both sets of players did their damnest to throw the game away but Albion did it better.

By the end of the extraordinary opening period it was 3-1 to the visitors, who prevailed despite the absence of hospitalised manager Joe Kinnear.

The opening goal came with just 70 seconds gone and it was a personal nightmare for Barnett, who was recalled after a four-match injury absence.

Ameobi's simple pass looked easy to cut out but Barnett got in a tangle, lost the ball under his feet and inadvertently teed up Damien Duff for a straightforward finish.

It took just two minutes for Albion to level things through Fortuné, who collected a clever pass by Valero and turned the flat-footed Steven Taylor and produced an excellent finish past keeper Steve Harper.

That strike should have given Albion a new foothold in the game, but instead parity lasted just five minutes before they self-destructed again.

A cross from the left ricocheted off both Barnett and the hapless Meite and dropped perfectly for Peter Lovenkrands to sweep home his first goal for the Magpies.

Albion kept the ball neatly as they attempted to claw their way back but they failed to penetrate and some more sloppy defending just before half-time saw them go 3-1 behind.

Ryan Taylor's corner was missed by Paul Robinson while Meite inexplicably allowed Steven Taylor a free run to send a bullet header past Scott Carson.

The second half was about the visitors protecting their lead and Albion, with Roman Bednar and Filipe Teixeira stepping off the bench, attempting to break down their resistance.

After much toil to little effect they eventually made a breakthrough with 16 minutes left. Teixeira was the creator with a darting run and pass and Fortuné was the scorer with another decisive turn and shot to cap an excellent all-round display.

The fifth goal of an incident-packed game triggered understandable nerves in the visitors, who retreated even further towards their own goal to hold what they had.

And it was the home side who pressed hard in the final 10 minutes for an unlikely equaliser with Valero going closest with a header from Robinson's cross.

But it was not to be, nor should it have been.

The 3-2 scoreline flattered Albion so 3-3 would have been a travesty.

The Baggies left The Hawthorns for a lengthy break from action and a chance to lick their wounds and reflect on the errors of an appaling afternoon.

It might take them most of the next two weeks.