West Bromwich Albion boosted their Championship play-off hopes with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over promotion chasers Leeds United on Friday evening. Carlos Corberan’s men started slowly and were fortunate not to give away two penalties early on but burst into life after the half-hour mark, converting clinically on a counter-attack to take the lead through Grady Diangana. Daniel Farke’s side pushed for an equaliser all game long but Albion defended resolutely to hold on for a huge three points.
It all could’ve been very different had Leeds been awarded one of their two huge penalty shouts before Albion took their lead. Semi Ajayi’s mistimed sliding challenge on Georginio Rutter wasn’t penalised and neither was Cedric Kipre’s pulling down of Willy Gnonto. Farke and his men were furious with referee Graham Scott but West Brom didn’t care as they were merciless in opening the scoring in the 37th minute.
It all started with Okay Yokuslu as the defensive midfielder found Wallace in acres of space down the right flank and the skipper zipped the ball into the penalty area. Diangana was there to attack and, although he saw his first shot blocked by Joe Rodon, the ball ricocheted back to him for a second bite of the cherry. Diangana made no mistake, slotting it home for 1-0 and sending The Hawthorns faithful wild.
Both sides had half chances in the second period – especially the visitors as substitutes Patrick Bamford and Daniel James caused problems – but just one goal was netted on the night, seeing West Brom move to within just three points of Leeds. Here are our Albion player ratings.
1. Alex Palmer - 6
Close to giving Rodon a free header in the second half as he misjudged the flight of a Leeds corner. Only tested once otherwise as he saved a Summerville effort.
2. Darnell Furlong - 7
Had mixed success defending up against Rutter as he made some decent challenges at times but gave away some sloppy fouls at others. Made a host of clearances and interceptions late on as Leeds pushed for an equaliser.
3. Cedric Kipre - 8
Unlucky not to score as he saw a well-hit shot cleared off the line in the first half. Swings and roundabouts, though, as he was fortunate not to give away a penalty for a tug on Gnonto. Otherwise defended excellently, especially with his physical and aerial battles. Headed away from Bamford superbly in the 89th minute.
4. Semi Ajayi - 6
Nearly gave away a spot-kick early on as he took out Rutter with a sliding challenge but the referee waved away appeals. Failed to dominate in the air as he won just 17% of his headers.