The decisive goal came in the 72nd minute, an own goal ably assisted by both Steve Watson and Paul Robinson, the ball taking a huge deflection off the former to wrong-foot Tomasz Kuszczak in the Albion goal. “It’s about time we got a break,” said a relieved Mick McCarthy, the Sunderland manager.
Nobody, other than Albion diehards, would begrudge Sunderland the lifeline of a first win in 15 games. Nor could they really mount a sustained argument about injustice, despite suspicions of a foul on Darren Carter before Sunderland’s winner.
Neither goalkeeper had a significant save to make throughout the 90 minutes and though the home team enjoyed more of the ball, little creativity embellished the obvious industry. Bryan Robson, the Albion manager, threw on as many forwards as he could muster and reverted to route one but, in the end, Sunderland held on with surprising ease.
Favouritism is an unfamiliar concept at The Hawthorns, but the prospect of back-to-back wins, after their first away win of the season at Wigan last week, seemed incentive enough.
Sunderland had their own memories, a last-minute equaliser by Albion in September that deprived them of a first home Premiership win since what seemed like Doomsday.
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They are still searching, but this must have been a fixture McCarthy had eyed before the start of this miserable season.
Sunderland had the luxury of being unchanged from the team narrowly beaten by Chelsea at the Stadium of Light. The Wearsiders certainly do not lack for industry or organisation, but their attack is lightweight and the defence a little punch-drunk. Not surprisingly, they expect the sky to fall in at any moment and are surprised when it doesn’t.
Their faults were amply exposed after 20 minutes when a neat cross by Justin Hoyte eluded Julio Arca and allowed West Brom a swift counter-attack, wasted ultimately by Nathan Ellington. Neat inter-play outside the box set up Ronnie Wallwork for a low shot, which was intentionally deflected goalwards by Junichi Inamoto, forcing Kelvin Davis into a scrambling save.
Moments later, Carter curled a free kick narrowly over the bar and Ellington fired over from Watson’s low cross. Otherwise, Sunderland were the neater, more fluent side, though a header over the bar by Arca and a shot similarly dispatched by Jon Stead were the sole threats. The Hawthorns began to get restless.
Twice, Ellington threatened to break the deadlock early in the second half, though Arca had the best chance, stabbing wide from Liam Lawrence’s low cross. But it had to be a bizarre goal to decide such a game, and it was.
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Lawrence knocked young Carter aside in midfield and threaded the ball through to Anthony le Tallec. The Frenchman, on loan from Liverpool, turned neatly inside Watson, seemed to be blocked by a despairing last-ditch tackle by Robinson only for the ball to deflect wickedly off Watson and past Kuszczak. Own goal or a winner by the ever-eager Le Tallec? “Not bothered,” said McCarthy. “Foul,” claimed Robson.
Sunderland looked as bemused as the rest of The Hawthorns, unsure who or perhaps how to celebrate. Le Tallec was withdrawn soon after for the more combative Christian Bassila as Sunderland sought desperately to hang on and Albion’s attempts to avoid embarrassment became increasingly frenetic. “We made it difficult for ourselves,” said Robson. “No one took responsibility.”
Robson threw on Richard Chaplow in a desperate search for the equaliser. But it was red faces all round.
STAR MAN: Liam Lawrence (Sunderland)
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Player ratings. West Brom: Kuszczak 6, Albrechtsen 6, Davies 6, Watson 6, Robinson 6, Greening 5, Wallwork 7 (Chaplow 86min, 6), Inamoto 4 (Horsfield 67min, 6), Carter 6, Ellington 5 (Nicholson 79min, 6), Campbell 5
Sunderland: Davis 6, Hoyte 5, Breen 6, Caldwell 5, Collins 6, Lawrence 7 (Nosworthy 90min, 5), Whitehead 6, Miller 6, Arca 5, Le Tallec 5 (Bassila 76min, 6), Stead 5 (Gray 86min, 6)
Scorer: Sunderland: Watson og 72
Referee: P Dowd
Attendance: 26,464
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