Football: Albion need a cool head; ALBION NEWS Defensive shambles requires action.

Byline: By Chris Lepkowski

ALBION 2

COVENTRY CITY 4

ALBION's defeat to Coventry City should be taken into context.

There is no nxeed for knee-jerk reactions, no panic and certainly no sign of a crisis.

But a bit of extra work on the training pitch wouldn't go amiss, not least to get to grips with the 'meat and potatoes' of Championship football.

The Baggies slipped to their first home League defeat of the campaign against a vibrant Sky Blues side who made sure of revenge following their 4-0 reversal to Tony Mowbray's men last month.

And it was a night of ironies. Paul Robinson, who has scored goals in his last three games against Coventry, was sent off.

Michael Mifsud, dismissed on his last appearance against Albion, was the scorer of two goals.

And the bastions of Albion's defence over the last few weeks looked more shambolic than organised.

Robinson's challenge on Mifsud in the 70th minute earned him a second yellow card at a point where Albion were in the ascendency and looking more likely victors.

His dismissal changed the dynamics of the game and, ultimately, the result. But let's not bash Robinson with the blame stick too soon - the damage was done way before his sending off.

Leon Best opened the scoring on six minutes when Ben Turner's ball was not dealt with by Bostjan Cesar, who only just made the match after passing a late fitness test on his back.

The Slovenian misjudged the ball, allowing Best to nip behind him to lob a shot over Dean Kiely.

It got worse. Six minutes later Leon McKenzie strode past the leggy Carl Hoefkens after being played in by Jay Tabb. The Coventry forward's cross was headed in by the unmarked Mifsud.

Albion manager Tony Mowbray made two changes at half-time.

Roman Bednar and Chris Brunt, perhaps the one player to emerge with any genuine credit, brought the game level only for Robinson's challenge on Mifsud to ruin Albion's chances.

Coventry's third goal was a catalogue of errors. Kiely played Leon Barnett into trouble.

Barnett got himself into a mess when a punt down the pitch would have been sufficient.

Jay Tabb picked up possession and his low pass was turned in by Best.

Hodgkiss did his best to clear it off the line but it was too late.

The fourth was academic, inevitable and fully deserved by a Coventry side who must have been shocked by their good fortune to stumble into such an off-colour Albion side.

Ward powered through the middle, played in Best, prompting Kiely out of his goal, and allowing the Coventry man to square the ball for Mifsud to finish-off the move.

Defensively Albion were a mess throughout. Cesar was clearly unfit while Barnett was poor. Robinson's rashness was back with a vengeance and Hoefkens was way below par and unable to handle McKenzie who, by all accounts, has hardly been setting Coventry alight of late.

Kiely also had one to forget.

Worse still, Albion go into Saturday's game at Leicester with few options at the back. Potential suitors Tininho and Pele do not inspire confidence.

Mowbray's midfield selection also comes in for scrutiny.

Zoltan Gera, usually so effective on the right of the midfield, was tucked in behind lone striker Roman Bednar and failed to link up play.

Filipe Teixeira, usually an ideal foil for the Albion front man, was occupying the Hungarian's usual role on the right-hand side yet offered little protection for Hoefkens.

One of the great strengths of Albion's attacking midfield play has been Gera's tenacity and workrate on the wing and Teixeira's ability and creativity in the centre. It was an inexplicable change of roles which backfired.

Sherjill MacDonald came on for the second half and had his most productive game yet from an attacking point of view.

But there is still a distinct lack of conviction about the Dutchman when it gets a little more combative - he cannot be relied upon to win 50-50s, which at this level, is imperative.

On a positive front, Chris Brunt was effective, first on the left and then on the right, while Teixeira tried to create chances but was simply unable to stop Coventry from putting Albion's right-back under pressure.

And Albion do deserve credit for fighting back from two goals down.

They remain second and will only learn from last night's defeat.

Saturday's game at Leicester will be a test of character.

ALBION: (4-2-3-1) Kiely 4, Hoefkens 5, Barnett 5, Cesar 5 (Hodgkiss ht, 5), Robinson 4, Greening 5, Koren 5, Teixeira 7 (Pele 71, 5), Gera 5 (MacDonald ht, 6), Brunt 8, Bednar. Not used: Steele, Beattie.

COVENTRY: (4-3-3) Konstantopoulos, McNamee, Ward, Turner, Borrowdale, Tabb, Doyle (Osbourne 88), M Hughes, McKenzie (Gray 81), Best (Adebola 86), Mifsud. Not used: Marshall, Cairo.

Referee: M Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear).

CAPTION(S):

RED MIST... Paul Robinson confronts the linesman as he is shown the red card by referee Mark Clattenburg.; ROUGH AND TUMBLE... Coventry's Leon McKenzie rises above Albion's Leon Barnett. Pictures: Tim Easthope; VICTORY ROAR... Michael Mifsud, left, celebrates Coventry's fourth goal with Elliott Ward.