Seen and heard on Albion

Here are five things seen and heard in the Czech Republic.

Albion fans made sure they celebrated their side’s 5-0 win over Crystal Palace, even as they were blunted by Jablonec.

The popular “Who put the ball in the Palace net? Half the team did” isn’t quite right.

When you include the own goal, it was more like a third of the team.

But “Gomez from the halfway line” was spot-on and a 5-0 banner was also spotted on the railings at the front of the away section.

Albion players were in demand from locals as they headed to the bus which would take them to the airport.

Obviously disappointed and keen to start the long trip home, I saw Pascal Gross still smiling as he stopped to pose for pictures and brief conversations with Czech and, it seemed, German supporters.

One would imagine others did likewise – but Gross was the man emerging as I passed that area.

The front page headline on Sport, the daily Czech newspaper packed with football and ice hockey, read “Sadness over a sensational draw”, suggesting Jablonec felt the win they had called a “miracle” was not far away.

Head coach Lubos Kozel said: “I felt it was coming, that there were about 15 to 20 minutes left in the game and we had a chance.”

The opposing head coaches both reached the same landmark – and neither realised it beforehand.

Lubos Kozel and Fabian Hurzeler both took charge of their teams for the 100th time in all competitions.

One important difference as Albion replay their Tromso draw in Jablonec Rutter says teams are ‘waiting for’ Albion after good run Hurzeler explains absence of three players as Albion were held by Jablonec

Kozel said of his opposite number: "I have to say that before the match he was friendly, and we exchanged more than a few words and talked about several things.

"But after the match we just shook hands. It was clear that he was not happy.

"But that is normal. A coach is never happy when he does not complete the task."

Albion drew a blank at Jablonec, just like Rangers a few weeks ago.

One area where they appeared to learn from the Scottish club off the pitch was in terms of transporting fans.

Unlike Rangers, the Seagulls laid on official club transport to and from the game from central Prague and it proved a popular choice with many of the 1,000 away supporters.

The town of Jablonec nad Nisou tends to get very quiet very quickly in the evening. Prague doesn't!