West Bromwich Albion 1-0 Birmingham City - Match Report
- Louis Bent
- Oct 16, 2021
- 2 min read
West Bromwich Albion bounced back to the top of the Championship table, as Karlan Grant grabbed another late winner to beat Birmingham City in this Midlands derby.
Grant picked up his fourth goal in as many games and continued his good home goalscoring form after picking up a brace at The Hawthorns against Queen's Park Rangers last time out.
The 23-year-old helped the Baggies' climb back to the top of the Championship table, taking Valerien Ismael's side a step closer to promotion with a low driven strike from outside the area.
The loss for Birmingham came as no surprise for Blues fans, after reported issues behind the scenes that meant Lee Bowyer left out club captain Harlee Dean and opted to bring in younger alternative Dion Sanderson.
The Blues had gone close to scoring earlier in the game, a cross from Jeremie Bela turned just wide by the stretching Scott Hogan.
On-loan Brighton man Matt Clarke came back into the side for West Brom after a lengthy injury saw him ruled out of action since August.
The 26-year-old returned with immediate effect, putting in a solid display as part of a back-three for the Baggies'.
Another on-loan Brighton man also made the difference, with Irishman Jayson Molumby putting in a solid performance replacing the injured Alex Mowatt.
Molumby made a darting run back into his own penalty area to prevent Blues from scoring after Kyle Bartley gave the ball away on the edge of his own penalty area.
Ismael's Albion lost last time out against Stoke City before the international break, and the Baggies' manager was delighted with the result.
“We wanted to start this block of fixtures positively. There are five games to go to the next international break and we wanted to start with a win, ” the Frenchman said.
"We found a winning way and we made it. Now we can build on it and stay focused. We need to win with consistency and we will take each game one-by-one.”
Ismael was also pleased with Karlan Grant's late winner.
“We are delighted that he can carry on at that level with momentum. He always has the focus and desire to prove his value. We know exactly what he can do and I’m delighted for him."
On the other hand, Blues boss Lee Bowyer was disappointed with his sides attacking output.
"My only disappointment was the goal. We should have defended better. It was one lapse of concentration, " Bowyer said.
"But we can't carry on missing chances. I think once we get one, they'll start to go in."
West Brom will face Swansea City in midweek at the Liberty Stadium as they'll look to regain the impressive form that's seen them reach the lofty heights of the promotion places.
Meanwhile, Birmingham will travel to Huddersfield to face Huddersfield Town in a clash that Bowyer will look to alleviate pressure on the club to pick up more points.
Comments