Hawthorns Heartbreak – WBA 2, Charlton 2 (4-3 pens)

West Brom booked their place in the next round of the FA Cup, but it took extra time and penalties to knock out a resilient Charlton side. It was an enthralling tie – the hosts led 2-0 at one stage, only for the Addicks to fight their way back and find an injury time winner.

The Hawthorns may have only been half-full, the weather was atrocious, but none of this dampened the spirits of the 12,000 that turned up for the match.

Pardew opted to stay with the formation that has looked promising in previous games, but it was West Brom who opened the deadlock only 14 minutes in as Bednar finished from close range.

This didn’t appear to hinder Charlton’s resolve as they continually pressed for an equaliser. McLeod almost managed to get the ball past Kiely, and in the final minute of the half, Varney somehow managed to sky a shot over from 6 yards with the goal at his mercy.

Both sides came out with clear intent in the second half, and West Brom extended their lead 5 minutes in. Holland and Zhi made a mess of a clearance, allowing Morrison space to slot past Weaver from 15 yards. 2-0 to the home team, and a real test of character.

Iwelumo was introduced for the ineffective McLeod, and took only a minute to make an impact. Kiely failed to hold his shot on the break, and Ambrose was in the right place to mop up and halve the deficit.

Charlton continued to press for an equaliser, as West Brom started to look shaky and on the back foot. Dickson was introduced with 8 minutes remaining, and brought a fairytale ending to the 90 minutes. A cross from Zhi found Sam just outside the box, who then fed Dickson who made no mistake with a predator’s finish. What a fantastic end to normal time, and set up a nailbiting half an hour.

The first half of extra time passed largely without incident, as both teams sized each other up. Weaver made a fantastic save from MacDonald, which Bougherra duly tidied up.

The second half saw Charlton on the attack, and Dickson come close to a hat-trick. After taking the ball past the last man and Kiely, his attempt to roll the ball in from a ridiculous angle almost paid off, but sadly rolled into the side-netting. With only 3 minutes left he again broke past the last man, only to see his fierce angled shot come back off the post and rebound to safety off Kiely.

With neither side able to break the deadlock, it came down to penalties. Varney hit the crossbar, Weaver saved, Zhi missed, and it was all over – another FA Cup run over, but a lot of positives to take on the late drive home.

We played the best team in the league and came back – people had questioned our mental toughness, and we answered those critics. Dickson looks a real livewire and looks ready to play at this level. Varney covered every blade of grass despite his disappointments. Holland was phenomenal.

In summary, we can take a lot away from this game, even if it’s not a trip to Peterborough in a few weeks. Hopefully we can carry the determination and desire through to a tricky tie at Vicarage Road on Saturday, where a win could lift us as high as 3rd.