Wishful thinking

My 2-1 Baggies prediction was appalling!

1-0 Portsmouth. Damn. Not a good result for Birmingham Mail sales or website hits. At least my brother-in-law was pleased (a Portsmouth fan with me at Wembley).

But good journalist mates Adrian Goldberg and Malcolm Boyden were downcast at the fnal whistle. As was local PR chum Phil Bateman. All three avid WBA fans and there at Wembley too, in the stands with the crowds.

I was lucky enough to be hosted at the FA Club by National Express. At my table beforehand, and hopeful, was former Baggies star Cyrille Regis. He was realistic but so much wanted a Baggies win. A glum face at 2.30pm.

Now the club has to pick itself up and make sure of promotion.

In fairness, they played as well as Portsmouth, though neither were great. A scrappy goal did it, though, and WBA's FA Cup dreams are over.

Now the Mail team has to work hard on pages of coverage to lift spirits in Monday's paper, despite the defeat.