Four things you missed from West Brom's 'hopeless' 3-1 defeat to Derby County - as Tony Mowbray breaks promise

West Brom knew they had to win all three of their remaining fixtures to stand any realistic chance of finishing in the top six but they failed at the first hurdle, defeated by the 21st-placed Derby.

Tony Mowbray’s men were the architects of their own downfall as they twice conceded from corners in the first half, defending appallingly for both. Super substitute Adam Armstrong gave West Brom hope as he scored to reduce the deficit in the second period, but a genius goal from Nathaniel Mendez-Laing sealed three precious points for the Rams.

It took just seven minutes for Derby to open the scoring as captain Ebou Adams found the net with a bullet header from a Marcus Harness corner. The scorer hung around Albion goalkeeper Josh Griffiths before peeling away for a completely free header behind Darnell Furlong. It was a clinical finish but entirely of West Brom’s own doing as their marking was effectively non-existent.

The Rams doubled their advantage on the half-hour mark, once again from a corner, as Jerry Yates poked home beyond Griffiths at the far post. It was laughable defending from West Brom as Kyle Bartley missed an easy clearance and Derby’s Matt Clarke was able to flick the ball around the corner to Yates, who was waiting to convert.

Albion finally began to click into gear after Derby’s second goal as they twice went close to pegging one back before half time. Isaac Price glanced the woodwork with a terrific curling effort from 25 yards before Tom Fellows had a powerful volley from a dinked Mikey Johnston cross saved expertly by Rams goalkeeper Josh Vickers.

The hosts were unable to carry on their newly-found momentum after half time and Mowbray turned to the bench for inspiration on the hour mark, bringing on four substitutions at once. The changes worked as Adam Armstrong scored within seven minutes of entering the field, sprinting onto a defence-splitting pass from Grady Diangana and cheekily poking the ball through Vickers’ legs for 1-2.

There was a big penalty shout in the 85th minute as Daryl Dike was wrestled to the ground by Clarke, but referee Gavin Ward waved away West Brom’s appeals. Dike was in a good position to win a header just inside the box but was thrown to the ground by Clarke, allowing Vickers to come and claim the ball.

Derby then went down the other end just a few moments later to put the result beyond doubt, Mendez-Laing netting a stunner in front of the jubilant away end. The winger, only brought on 60 seconds earlier, sprinted onto a through ball and displayed immaculate composure to flick the ball over Griffiths, control it as it came back down and finish from a tight angle.

That’s now five defeats in West Brom’s last six games and Mowbray’s men will know play-offs are now an unrealistic prospect, and that’s if they weren’t already. The gap remains six points as Coventry City and Bristol City both lost, but it would take a miracle to close that now.

Whether you were in attendance at The Hawthorns or were watching from TV, there will have been a few moments or trends you may have missed from the game. Here’s a run-through of four that Birmingham World reporter Charlie Haffenden spotted from the press box.

Furlong twice at fault for Derby opener

Albion clearly didn’t learn from their sloppy start away at Coventry on Good Friday as they let Derby take a very early lead. Sometimes opponents score goals that you just have to hold your hands up and accept, but this certainly wasn’t one of those as the Baggies handed the Rams a belated Easter present on a plate.

Defending set pieces is so important in any division, especially in the Championship when games are so often won and lost through physicality. West Brom didn’t even give themselves a chance to contest for Adams’ header, however, as the Derby goalscorer was able to peel away from his marker effortlessly.

Furlong, tasked with commanding the near post, simply had to do better as he failed to spot Adams’ simple run. He also appeared to duck as the ball came over, not even jumping to try and head it away. The right-back wasn’t just at fault when defending the corner, either, as he was the one to give away the set piece after giving the ball away cheaply and having to make a late recovery block.

Mowbray promise broken

After the 2-0 defeat to Blackburn Rovers in February, Mowbray made a point about just how much West Brom missed Bartley, who was suspended at the time. Mowbray claimed the Baggies lacked the central defender’s aerial dominance and promised his side would be far more confident defending crosses upon his return.

That has been the case at times after Bartley came back into the team, admittedly, but you wouldn’t have known it against Derby as the 33-year-old made a huge mistake for the second goal. Bartley was the clear favourite to get to Harness’ corner first but he showed no fight or desire to beat Clarke, who was able to chop in with ease and assist Yates.

Bartley is meant to be a dominator in the box - and Mowbray has so often talked him up as much - but he failed with the simplest of tasks ahead of Yates’ easy tap-in. The defender’s usual leadership wasn’t exactly on show at other points in the game, either. It’s a great shame and poor timing, too, as Bartley’s one-year contract extension was announced only last week.

Lankshear shortfall clear

Handed a third successive start by Mowbray, Will Lankshear will be disappointed to have been substituted off in the 63rd minute without making any real impact. The Tottenham Hotspur loanee has shown signs of promise off the bench in the past but he wasn’t able to shine against the Rams.

With just 14 touches of the ball, one every four and a half minutes on average, Lankshear hardly laid a glove on his opponents. It also became clear very quickly that the striker perhaps isn’t quite ready for the physicality of the Championship. In the first half, he was beaten in duels - both on the ground in the air - by Clarke and Nat Phillips on four occasions.

Diangana strikes gold, but not enough

Albion’s number 11 had been totally ineffective in the first half and struggled at the start of the second, but he helped roar The Hawthorns into life out of nowhere in the 70th minute, striking gold with an inch-perfect pass to assist Armstrong’s goal.

The vision and the execution were both stellar from Diangana, who dug deep for a moment of genius. Armstrong’s finish was composed but it was all about Diangana’s pass, aimed through the eye of a needle. The winger, playing in an auxiliary central midfield role towards the end, gained great confidence from his assist and was involved in all of Albion’s efforts to equalise. It wasn’t to be in the end, but Diangana tried.