James McClean sparked a melee at the final whistle, celebrating in front of the visiting fans after a costly error by Costel Pantilimon condemned Sam Allardyce to defeat in his first game as Sunderland manager.
Pantilimon, the Sunderland goalkeeper, dropped a cross in the second half to hand Saido Berahino, the West Brom forward, the only goal of a poor contest at The Hawthorns.
McClean, the former Sunderland winger, was then confronted by Danny Graham after the game following a vitriolic celebration in front of the travelling supporters. It sparked an incident involving more than a dozen players with McClean eventually led away by Craig Gardner, another ex-Sunderland midfielder.
Berahino’s three goals this season have all come since he threatened to go on strike at the end of the summer transfer window having been refused permission to join Tottenham Hotspur. But his easy finish against Sunderland continued the process of rebuilding his reputation with West Brom’s supporters.
It left Sunderland, though, still rooted firmly in the bottom three of the Barclays Premier League and underlined the challenge facing Allardyce to transform their fortunes after taking over from Dick Advocaat.
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Despite Allardyce adopting a conservative 4-5-1 system for his first game in charge, his team made the early running and only some desperate defending from the home side kept them at bay in the early stages.
Jonny Evans and Craig Dawson made timely blocks from shots by Steven Fletcher and Lee Cattermole respectively. Then Boaz Myhill, the home goalkeeper, made an excellent save to deny Billy Jones, his former West Brom team-mate. The Sunderland full-back sent a brave diving header towards goal after a scramble in the West Brom penalty area and Myhill reacted smartly to turn it over the crossbar.
Stéphane Sessègnon, the former Sunderland attacker, was given his first start since April for West Brom and he was the first of Pulis’s players to pose a threat for the visitors. He produced neat footwork to create room on the edge of the penalty area but sent a shot just wide with his left foot.
The remainder of the opening half was a dull, drab affair until two minutes from half-time, when Sessègnon got the better of DeAndre Yedlin, the left-back, and crossed for McClean at the far post. His header across the six-yard box was glanced towards goal by Salomon Rondon but Pantilimon gathered the ball with ease.
The opening stages of the second half were similarly disjointed until Pantilimon presented West Brom with the opening goal. Nine minutes after the restart, the goalkeeper dropped Brunt’s cross as he challenged with Berahino. Martin Atkinson, the referee, ignored Pantilimon’s claims that he had been fouled as Berahino pounced to prod the loose ball into an empty net.
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West Brom might have doubled their advantage a few minutes later when Brunt delivered an inviting cross for Salomon Rondon, the club’s record signing, but he screwed a shot wide of the near post.
Sunderland created precious little in their hunt for an equalising goal but Yann M’Vila caused a brief moment of panic when his shot from long range was spilled by Myhill, forcing Gareth McAuley into a hurried clearance. The rest of the game passed without incident but McClean sparked the latest controversy in his colourful career after the final whistle.
After being jeered repeatedly by visiting fans - who also sang God Save The Queen to taunt the Irishman - McClean celebrated in front of them as soon as the three points were secured and was shoved by Graham, with a host of other players also becoming involved before the incident was calmed down.
McClean, who hails from a republican area of Northern Ireland, has previously refused to acknowledge the British National Anthem before matches and has declined to wear a Remembrance Day poppy.