Grady Diangana and Brandon Thomas-Asante scored as West Brom beat Coventry 2-0 at the CBS Arena.
The Sky Blues had lost just once at home since mid-January, but were handed a third consecutive defeat to remain 20th in the Sky Bet Championship table.
The Baggies’ second away win of the season lifted them back into the play-off positions as they notched their sixth clean sheet in seven outings.
Carlos Corberan’s men began the night without a recognised striker as Thomas-Asante was left out of the line-up, but when Ben Wilson spilled Nathaniel Chalobah’s effort straight at the feet of Diangana, the winger had the presence of mind to steady himself and roll into an empty net in the 17th minute.
The visitors had started on the front foot as they camped in Coventry’s half and won a succession of corners, but were stopped in their tracks when the offside flag went up as Kyle Bartley’s header hit a post.
It was a miserable night for Coventry’s record signing Haji Wright, who squandered two huge opportunities to level with the score at 1-0.
First, the American diverted Liam Kitching’s pinpoint cross wide of Alex Palmer’s goal from close range after he had seen an earlier effort blocked by Cedric Kipre.
Palmer was also on hand to block Wright’s shot from a tight angle when he was played in by Jay Dasilva, while Jamie Allen failed to connect with his effort.
It was a frustrating first half for Mark Robins’ men, who racked up 11 efforts on goal, with Tatsuhiro Sakamoto’s shot beaten away by Palmer while Ben Sheaf fired over twice from range.
Shortly after half-time, Josh Eccles’ defence-splitting pass sent Wright through one-on-one with Palmer but he pulled his effort wide with the goal gaping.
He and the Sky Blues were made to pay in the 69th minute when Matt Phillips set Thomas-Asante away down the left and the striker drove into the box before opening his body and finding the top corner with deadly precision.
The substitute could have further extended the lead when he stole possession from Kyle McFadzean and weaved his way between a host of defenders before blasting over.
Coventry had only scored two goals in their previous four matches and Matt Godden and Ellis Simms were thrown on to try to get the Sky Blues back in the game, while Callum O’Hare had a penalty shout waved away on his first home appearance since December after a knee injury.
Twelve months ago the Baggies sat bottom of the league on 14 points from 17 games, but held onto their 2-0 victory to make it one defeat in their last nine as they rose to fifth in the table.
Italiano confirms Fiorentina exit after Atalanta victory
Vincenzo Italiano confirmed he is leaving Europa Conference League runners-up Fiorentina after they ended their Serie A campaign with a 3-2 win at Atalanta on Sunday.
Italiano took charge of Fiorentina in 2021 and has led them to three successive top-eight finishes in Serie A, also reaching the Europa Conference League final in back-to-back campaigns.
However, they were beaten by a last-gasp Jarrod Bowen goal as West Ham lifted the trophy last year, then lost out to Olympiacos in extra time in the 2023-24 final.
The Viola wrapped up their campaign with an impressive 3-2 win at Atalanta in a rescheduled fixture on Sunday, after which he announced his departure.
"We all took this decision together not many weeks ago," Italiano told reporters after Sunday's game. "You reach a certain point where you have to stop.
"I'm convinced whoever arrives will be able to continue a path that will leave something improved, I hope I have left something to this group, I think they have been three positive years.
"The only regret was not having added the trophy, but as [Atalanta coach Gian Piero] Gasperini told me, these paths are worthwhile and will be remembered."
Reflecting on Fiorentina's latest European near miss, Italiano said he was confident his team would come out on top if the game was replayed.
He also said he regretted being unable to end a traumatic season with silverware, with the club being rocked by the death of general manager Joe Barone in March.
"I would play Olympiacos again tonight, we were all convinced we could beat them. We all believed we could reach the end of the cycle but we didn't succeed," Italiano said.
"The saddest moment was the loss of our director, the worst moment since I was in football. The love we had for him pushed us towards an emotional ending."
De Jong unsure on fitness ahead of Euro 2024
Frenkie de Jong is unsure whether he will be fit for the Netherlands' Euro 2024 opener against Poland as he continues his recovery from an ankle injury.
De Jong was included in Ronald Koeman's final 26-man squad for the Euros despite an ankle issue preventing him from featuring for Barcelona since April 21.
The midfielder was limited to just 30 appearances in all competitions through 2023-24, as the Blaugrana finished a distant second to Real Madrid in LaLiga and exited the Champions League at the quarter-final stage.
He is yet to join in with team training despite linking up with his international team-mates ahead of warm-up matches against Canada and Iceland.
Speaking to reporters after going through an individual session on Sunday, De Jong said: "I'm not fit yet, so I can't say I'm doing well.
"The ankle is fine in itself but it just needs to recover properly because it shouldn't become something chronic.
"I'm not doing anything with the team yet. I am doing physio and recovery training, individual training.
"We just have to wait and see how the ankle goes. Then we will see when I can join in."
Asked if he expected to face Poland in the Oranje's Group D opener on June 16, De Jong said: "That is always the question.
"If you are not completely fit now and are not training with the group, then the question is always when and if you will make it. No one knows exactly.
"I really cannot say when. That's not because I don't want to and know it myself. It's just difficult to say."
Euro 2024 will be the Netherlands' 11th participation at UEFA's flagship international tournament, and they won the competition when it was last hosted solely in Germany, beating the Soviet Union in the 1988 final.
Atalanta 2-3 Fiorentina: Scalvini injured as La Dea miss chance to finish third
Italy defender Giorgio Scalvini was forced off injured as Atalanta failed to secure a third-place finish in Serie A on Sunday, being substituted late on in a 3-2 loss to Fiorentina.
The Europa League winners faced the Europa Conference League runners-up in Bergamo one week after the rest of the league played their final games of 2023-24, with the teams unable to meet before now due to their European commitments.
A victory would have taken Gian Piero Gasperini's team – who were guaranteed a top-four finish – above Juventus into third, but Andrea Belotti put them behind within six minutes.
Ademola Lookman raced clear to equalise with a dinked finish within six further minutes, but Nicolas Gonzalez's fine volley soon re-established the Viola's lead.
Scalvini drilled in a terrific shot to pull Atalanta level again shortly after the hour mark, but his game would later end in tears as he was helped from the field with an apparent knee issue – a major concern for Italy less than two weeks out from their Euro 2024 opener.
Belotti had put Fiorentina back in the lead following a goalmouth scramble on the stroke of half-time, and Atalanta were unable to force a leveller in the second period as their fine season ended on a flat note.
Data Debrief: Thrilling end to Serie A season
Sunday's game – the final Serie A contest of 2023-24 – saw more first-half goals scored than any other match in the competition this term. Belotti got two of the five, and he now has seven goal involvements (six goals, one assist) in his last six league games against Atalanta.
The result is just a minor inconvenience for La Dea, though. They have finished in Serie A's top four for just the fifth time in their history, previously doing so in 2016-17 (fourth), 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 (all third).
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