Rotherham’s new head coach Leam Richardson said he knows the size of the challenge he has taken on following their 2-0 defeat to West Brom.

Second-half goals from Grady Diangana and Jed Wallace were the difference as the Millers’ winless run extended to nine games stretching back to October.

Richardson, who was officially appointed on Monday to replace Matt Taylor, is looking forward to the challenge but is under no illusions as to the size of the task facing rock-bottom Rotherham.

He said: “It is exactly the same challenge as I thought it was when I came in. It’s one of the top leagues in Europe. West Brom will be right up there.

“They have had two shots on target and they have both gone in. We are in a really challenging league.

“The first goal was a mistake and a technical error, which happens. We won’t dwell on it. We have a group of staff and players who want to get better.

“The work was already done (before this match). You can only commend the effort and endeavour out there.

“There are always areas where we want to improve. Collectively we can get better.

“I have only been here minutes so it’s important that you listen and don’t only talk.

“We are where we are. We don’t look at the past.

“I’ve got ideas about how I want to play. That won’t happen overnight. It will also take one or two transfer windows.”

Early chances fell for both sides, with Darnell Furlong poking wide from a West Brom corner and then Jordan Hugill heading straight at Alex Palmer.

But the game settled into a lull leading into the break with neither goalkeeper remotely troubled.

West Brom badly needed to inject some life into their attacks in the second period and one paid off after 54 minutes.

Jayson Molumby’s cross was only partially cleared by Dexter Lembikisa and Diangana took full advantage with his low shot deflected beyond the grasp of keeper Viktor Johansson.

The Baggies then sealed the points in the final minute with Wallace’s perfect free-kick from the edge of the box.

West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan was pleased to see his side bounce back from successive losses.

He said: “I knew how tough this game would be in its competitiveness.

“We knew they would play long balls to create individual duels and challenges. We needed to be strong on the set-pieces. They are strong and they have the size.

“I watched Leeds’ game here when they drew and Swansea won here by one goal against 10 men for 70 minutes. I knew how uncomfortable the game would be.

“I think what’s important is that the team found better solutions from the situation.”

West Brom got back to winning ways with two second-half strikes proving to be the difference in a 2-0 triumph at Rotherham.

The Baggies had suffered back-to-back defeats heading into this game but Grady Diangana’s deflected strike and Jed Wallace’s perfect free-kick ensured a very welcome three points for Carlos Corberan’s side.

Rotherham welcomed new head coach Leam Richardson but they remain winless since October – a nine-game streak which has seen them drop to the foot of the Championship.

The first chance of the game fell the way of the visitors, with a low corner from Alex Mowatt finding its way through to Darnell Furlong who poked wide at the near post.

Rotherham’s first opening came through the recalled Jordan Hugill but his floated header from Ollie Rathbone’s free-kick was easily gathered by Alex Palmer.

That was as good as it got for the remainder of the half as West Brom kept the ball well but did very little with it.

The visitors finally showed some adventure early in the second half with a mazy dribble from skipper Conor Townsend leading to a cross to Jayson Molumby, but he miscued his volley off target.

They went in front on 54 minutes when a cross from Molumby was cleared hastily by Dexter Lembikisa and only as far as Diangana, whose low effort took a deflection to wrong-foot keeper Viktor Johansson.

Rotherham tried to respond quickly but Arvin Appiah lashed way off target after finding space around the edge of the box.

The visitors almost fashioned another chance through a succession of Furlong’s long throws and then substitute Wallace whipped in a dangerous cross which had to be cleared to safety.

Richardson looked to his bench with the hopes of mustering a chance for a leveller in the closing stages.

The Millers’ record signing Sam Nombe joined Hugill up front but it was Hakeem Odoffin who almost got on the end of a whipped cross from the right wing.

Rathbone also delivered a dangerous ball from a free-kick and it was almost met by Nombe’s head before it drifted out to safety at the back post.

West Brom made sure of the points in the 90th minute with Wallace curling in an inch-perfect free-kick from the edge of the box.

Tom Eaves looked to grab a consolation for Rotherham in added time but his header from Lembikisa’s cross was blocked by former Miller Semi Ajayi.

Interim boss Mike Dodds expects to still be in charge of Sunderland for Tuesday’s visit of Leeds after guiding the Black Cats to a 2-1 win over West Brom.

Dodds was handed the head coach role on a temporary basis after Tony Mowbray was sacked earlier this week and got off to the perfect start as the hosts brought a three-game winless run to an end.

The interview process for a new head coach is under way but Dodds does not expect an appointment to be made in the coming days.

“As far as I’m aware I’m in charge on Tuesday, nobody has told me otherwise,” said Dodds.

“I will stick to my plan until someone else tells me otherwise.”

Dan Ballard and Dan Neil scored Sunderland’s second-half goals against the Baggies, who halved the deficit through substitute Brandon Thomas-Asante late on but couldn’t force an equaliser.

Dodds said: “I’m a perfectionist and I want to have complete control of the game, I didn’t like elements of the first half where they had too much control of the ball, albeit without hurting us too much.

“I think they played through us and our shape a little too much. The second half I think is a Sunderland team regardless of who is in charge: youthful, on the front foot, turning the game into 1-v-1 both attacking and defending, being brave in and out of possession; the second half for me is a Sunderland team.”

With Sunderland’s four strikers still without a goal this season, Dodds opted to play midfielder Jobe Bellingham up-front against West Brom and the teenager had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside in the first half.

“I had the privilege of coaching him from a very young age and I watched him playing as a striker pretty much up until the under-14s,” said Dodds, who worked with both Bellingham brothers at Birmingham.

“It wasn’t until he got a bit older that his position changed.

“I’m not saying he’s a number nine, just that he’s a player who has a knack of breaking into the box and who can naturally find space in the box.

“The reality is that for an 18-year-old, with a bit of luck he could have almost double figures to his name this season. We’ll see what Tuesday brings but as I’ve said before, the reality is I could play him anywhere on the pitch and he’d perform.”

West Brom have now lost two games on the bounce and boss Carlos Corberan was frustrated with his side’s display on Wearside.

He said: “We didn’t perform to the best level we have as a team. I know the quality of the players Sunderland have.

“After the mistake that led to the Sunderland goal that was disallowed, it created a lot of doubt in ourselves.

“From that moment, Sunderland attacked more and we defended more. We created problems for ourselves.”

Corberan handed Josh Maja his first start of the season but the former Sunderland striker was forced off injured in the first half.

Corberan said: “It’s unfair for him. He had eight weeks out of the team. In the last three weeks he’s come back and the first time I put him in the first XI, he gets another injury from a foul.”

Mike Dodds enjoyed a winning start as interim Sunderland boss after two second-half goals fired the Black Cats to a deserved 2-1 victory over West Brom.

Defender Dan Ballard broke the deadlock in the 69th minute before Dan Neil doubled Sunderland’s lead and looked to have wrapped up the points six minutes from time.

West Brom hit back through substitute Brandon Thomas-Asante in the 86th minute but Sunderland held out and brought a three-game winless run to an end as Dodds – who was put in caretaker charge after Tony Mowbray’s sacking on Monday – got off to the perfect start.

The victory lifted the Black Cats briefly back into the top six ahead of the 3pm kick-offs, while for Albion it was a second successive defeat after last week’s loss at home to leaders Leicester.

Sunderland made a confident start and would have been a goal up inside 15 minutes had Jobe Bellingham’s close-range rebound not been wrongly ruled out for onside.

Bellingham – starting up front for the Black Cats in the week his older brother Jude described him as a “thoroughbred striker” – was on hand to tap into an empty net after Alex Palmer could only parry Adil Aouchiche’s strike. The assistant’s flag was raised but replays showed the 18-year-old was clearly onside.

Undeterred, Sunderland remained on the front foot and had a strong penalty shout waved away when Patrick Roberts hit the deck after a weaving run from the right.

West Brom grew into the game and although they did not manage a shot on target in the opening 45 minutes, they finished the first period on top, despite the frustration of losing striker Josh Maja.

Making his first return to Sunderland since leaving the Black Cats four years ago and his first start of the season for the Baggies, Maja’s afternoon was cut short after Ballard’s heavy tackle 10 minutes before the interval.

Sunderland were the better team in the early stages of the second half and came agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock 12 minutes after the restart.

After good build-up play from Roberts on the right, Aouchiche’s strike from inside the box crashed back off the post before Jack Clarke’s rebound was superbly saved by Palmer.

Dodds turned to his bench, introducing Alex Pritchard in place of Aouchiche, and the change worked a treat. It was substitute Pritchard who swung in the 70th minute free-kick for Ballard to head home.

Pritchard was again involved in the second goal, setting Neil away, with the midfielder keeping his cool and lifting the ball over Palmer.

Albion responded and two substitutes combined as Thomas-Asante headed in Pipa’s cross from the left. Jeremy Sarmiento had a penalty claim waved away deep in stoppage time.

Leicester manager Enzo Maresca said it was “unbelievable” his team were given less time to recover than opponents West Brom despite beating them 2-1 in a dramatic late finish.

The Foxes briefly extended their lead at the top of the Sky Bet Championship to four points after Harry Winks scored a stoppage-time winner to cancel out substitute Josh Maja’s 89th-minute equaliser.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall put Leicester in front after 72 minutes before unselfishly opting to set up Winks four minutes into time added on.

“It was a very difficult game because of them and because when you play Wednesday night and Saturday lunchtime it’s not easy, and they played Tuesday night, so they had 24 hours more to recover the energy,” said Maresca.

“For me it’s unbelievable when you play Wednesday night and Saturday – both teams have to play together (at the same time), not one on Tuesday and one on Wednesday because the difference is huge.”

Maresca claimed some of his players were tired during the game.

“Wilfred (Ndidi) came back from a long-term injury, we gave him some rest on Wednesday night but you could see he wasn’t fresh,” added the Italian.

“Wout Faes did a big effort to be there, and Jannik (Vestergaard), JJ (James Justin) the same.”

Dewsbury-Hall was Leicester’s standout player after scoring his sixth goal of the season and setting up the other, but Maresca wants more from him.

“In terms of goals, he is where he has to be, but with assists I’m not happy, because this one was quite easy,” he said. “He has to improve his last pass because he’s had many chances.”

Leicester led in the 72nd minute when Dewsbury-Hall headed home Ndidi’s cross.

Albion equalised in the 89th minute when Faes headed away Darnell Furlong’s throw-in and, when the ball came back in, Cedric Kipre helped it on and the grounded Ricardo Pereira could only tee up Maja to net his first Albion goal.

For the winner, Leicester broke following a long Albion throw-in and Kelechi Iheanacho found Dewsbury-Hall, who dribbled 40 yards before drawing Alex Palmer and slipping in Winks.

West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan admitted he had no regrets at going for broke instead of settling for a draw after the equaliser.

“We weren’t trying to defend the result – we were attacking how I think you need to attack, but prior to the throw-in we should have defended more calmly, not as aggressive so as not to give them the option to score,” he said.

“We attacked how we always attack. Sometimes to change something is negative.

“If I told my centre-backs not to go up (to join the attack), having scored a goal two minutes ago, at home, I’d have regretted this.

“There are many small aspects to correct – not just because we lost, but to not suffer transitions against opponents.

“The next time we have a throw-in, we must be prepared to not only try to score, but to try to score without the risk of suffering the transition.

“In the 93rd minute, sometimes you make mistakes because of the emotion, not even the emotion to attack, but the emotion to recover the ball, to help your team and to try to make a foul, to keep running.

“We are humans, this is why football is magic. These things happen.”

Harry Winks scored a last-gasp winner as Sky Bet Championship leaders Leicester beat West Brom 2-1 in a dramatic finish to give manager Enzo Maresca a winning first return to The Hawthorns.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s 72nd-minute header – his sixth goal of the season – gave Leicester the lead and the midfielder then set up Winks in the fourth minute of stoppage time after substitute Josh Maja looked like he had rescued a point.

Maresca, who started his professional career at West Brom and played 47 games there between 1998-2000, will have been relieved as there was little between the teams, who both hit the goal frame in the first half.

West Brom had a penalty claim turned down when Grady Diangana went down after it appeared he was pushed over in the box; VAR might have intervened if it was available.

Albion then failed to react quickly enough when goalkeeper Mads Hermansen played a poor pass out and it was intercepted, Brandon Thomas-Asante eventually having a shot blocked.

The home side went even closer in the 25th minute when Cedric Kipre stabbed against a post with the goalkeeper beaten after Matt Phillips’s corner had flicked off a couple of heads.

But Leicester returned fire to hit the goal frame themselves when Kelechi Iheanacho’s low angled drive was deflected onto the near post by Darnell Furlong’s lunge.

It looked like things might open up after the break when Diangana’s curling shot was deflected over the bar off Wout Faes.

But instead it became very scrappy, with both teams guilty of giving the ball away in midfield and defences remained on top.

That almost changed when Wilfred Ndidi got on the end of a cross from substitute Abdul Fatawu, but his flicked header under pressure lacked the power to beat Alex Palmer, who fumbled before the ball was cleared.

The Ndidi-Fatawu link-up combined again to devastating effect in the 72nd minute.

Fatawu spotted Ndidi’s run beyond the Albion midfield in the inside right position and the latter crossed for Dewsbury-Hall to nod the ball home ahead of Furlong from six yards out.

Albion equalised in very scrappy fashion. Furlong’s throw-in was headed away by Faes and, when the ball came back in, Kipre helped it on – a grounded Leicester defender could only tee up Maja to prod home his first goal since February 2022.

But Leicester hit Albion on the counter when they broke on a long throw-in and Iheanacho passed from inside his own half to Dewsbury-Hall, who ran 40 yards with the ball before drawing Palmer and slipping in Winks for an open goal.

Carlos Corberan praised West Brom’s “maturity” as a hard-fought 1-0 win at Cardiff lifted them to third place in the Sky Bet Championship.

Jeremy Sarmiento’s stunning second-half strike gave Albion a fifth win in six games and seven from their last 10.

“It was total opposite win,” boss Corberan said comparing Albion’s success in the Welsh capital to their free-flowing victory over second-placed Ipswich on Saturday.

“This result was the consequence of the team competing with maturity when we couldn’t find the football we wanted to create.

“The first half was very difficult to impose our style, we couldn’t find more than four or five passes because we couldn’t link enough.

“It was very important for me not to be frustrated but to fix details.

“We improved the possession in the second half and had the ball in better positions.

“We had to show defensive spirit in the second half to secure the three points.”

Sarmiento has had a slow start to his Baggies spell after joining on a season-long loan from Brighton in July.

The 21-year-old former England youth international, who played for Ecuador at the 2022 World Cup, has been troubled by a quad injury and this was only his second league start.

On Sarmiento’s wonder strike five minutes after the break, cutting on to his right foot and curling home from 20 yards, Corberan said: “Maybe I didn’t expect him to shoot from there.

“He has the quality and he was very positive, but it was not easy from the angle that he had.

“It’s important for Jeremy to have the minutes because the injury has stopped him having the continuity he needs to have.

“We know he is a young player with a lot of talent and he needs to keep building his level. The more he improves the better it is for the team.”

Cardiff manager Erol Bulut was angry his side were not given a late penalty for handball, saying in a post-match radio interview that “this league needs VAR for sure”.

Bulut said: “I didn’t mention anything about referees because I respect them and I think they need to respect Cardiff more.

“This was a penalty and we will report it. I don’t want to speak but they are pushing me. They are costing me many points. I don’t want to report it.”

Bulut absolved on-loan Arsenal goalkeeper Alex Runarsson, who was making only his third league start for the Bluebirds, of blame for Sarmiento’s winner.

He said: “We watched it and I spoke with the goalkeeper coach (Mario Galinovic) and he said he couldn’t catch the ball.

“I have to see it, but if the goalkeeper coach says this, it’s a really good shot.

“We don’t have to allow that shot. But we should push the opponent to the line.”

Jeremy Sarmiento produced a moment of magic to give West Brom a precious 1-0 win at Cardiff.

Sarmiento’s second Albion goal five minutes after the restart lit up a contest that had been largely forgettable until that point and was enough to take West Brom into the top three of the Sky Bet Championship.

The Ecuador winger, on a season-long loan from Brighton, was at the World Cup this time last year and his goal would not have looked out of place at that tournament.

Sarmiento broke down the left before cutting inside Josh Bowler and unleashing a vicious curling 25-yard shot that flew into the far corner of Alex Runarsson’s net.

Although not as spectacular as Alejandro Garnacho’s stunning overhead kick for Manchester United at Everton on Sunday, it will be a chief contender for West Brom’s goal of the season.

Albion’s fifth win in six games moved them above Leeds and Southampton – who both play on Wednesday – and seven points behind second-placed Ipswich.

Victory would have taken Cardiff above Albion, but the Bluebirds were flat throughout as they slipped to a second successive home defeat.

The game quickly settled into a cautious affair with neither side willing to take too many risks.

Cedric Kipre, who spent last season on loan at Cardiff and whose April winner at Rotherham virtually guaranteed the Bluebirds’ survival, was on hand for Albion to block from former team-mate Joe Ralls.

West Brom struggled to make an impact in the final third and were handicapped by the departure of Jed Wallace, who left the action holding his arm and in obvious pain.

Okay Yokuslu fired wildly from 25 yards for the visitors before Sarmiento and Bowler tangled at the other end.

Bowler went down to some half-hearted penalty appeals as Callum Robinson, against his former employers, picked up the loose ball and shot over.

The deadlock was almost broken after 31 minutes when Cardiff were exposed defensively from their own corner.

Albion had a four-on-two situation but Grady Diangana delayed the final pass and the stretching Sarmiento could only trickle his effort against the post.

Bowler, Cardiff’s biggest attacking threat down the left, immediately escaped marker Conor Townsend and shimmied his way past Kipre but Alex Palmer was off his line quickly to smother.

Sarmiento’s sublime strike gave Albion the edge as both sides turned heavily to their bench for the final half-hour.

Yokuslu had excelled in the midfield battle before being withdrawn in the final quarter and Albion should have doubled their advantage 15 minutes from time.

Ryan Wintle sliced Darnell Furlong’s long throw to the far post where the unmarked Brandon Thomas-Asante directed his header over.

Cardiff stirred in the final 10 minutes as Rubin Colwill made a lively impact from the bench, the Wales international having two shots blocked, and Bowler and Manolis Siopis blasted over.

But the night belonged to Carlos Corberan’s Albion and in particular Sarmiento.

Early goals were once again the issue for Ipswich at Championship rivals West Brom as they were swept aside 2-0.

The Baggies scored early in either half but Town boss Kieran McKenna is not overly focused on that issue and has backed his side to improve their fortunes.

Darnell Furlong headed the hosts in front after just five minutes from Matt Phillips’ corner and Albion doubled their advantage in the 47th minute through a well-worked counter-attack finished neatly by Grady Diangana.

“We’ve analysed the goals and spoken about it with the group,” said McKenna, whose side have now conceded inside the first 10 minutes in five of their last six games and in the 13th minute of the other.

“More so than obsessing about these starts – we’re aware of it but for two years it’s not been an issue until quite recently – but it’s about the set-piece we didn’t defend.

“The nature of the goals and the timing of the goals dictated the context of the game. It was always going to be a difficult game coming here, after an international game and for a 5:30 game, but to concede from the first corner they get makes it really difficult.

“We know West Brom are good at defending leads, we were pretty stable in the first half and comfortable in the game but they’re a hard team to create big chances against.

“We changed a few little things at half-time. We started well for a few minutes but they score from our corner and that set the feel of the whole of the second half.

“Credit to the opponent. Thankfully we have lots of games coming thick and fast and we move on quickly to Wednesday (against Millwall).”

West Brom are mounting a top-six effort of their own and can be a belligerent unit on home soil, having kept five home clean sheets in six, and manager Carlos Corberan considered his team to be deserving of their victory.

“The first thing I’ll tell you is that the result is the consequence of the performance,” Corberan reflected.

“The team deserved the points against a very good opponent, an opponent who have lost once in the competition.

“You have to compete against them at the best level or it won’t be enough. I saw the team play with competitive maturity.

“The key wasn’t even to score quick. If you analyse Ipswich’s results, they were losing 2-0 to Birmingham and drew 2-2. They were losing 1-0 to Huddersfield and they drew the game. They were losing to Swansea early and they won that game – they have a resilience which means conceding goals doesn’t affect them. They aren’t going to change structure or style.”

West Brom inflicted just a second Championship defeat of the season on Ipswich and became the first team to stop the Tractor Boys scoring in a league match as they ran out comfortable 2-0 winners.

Darnell Furlong headed the hosts in front after just five minutes from Matt Phillips’ corner. Albion started the second half quickly, too, and doubled their advantage in the 47th minute through a well-worked counter-attack finished off by Grady Diangana.

It was a night when the Baggies only strengthened their own promotion credentials against Kieran McKenna’s high-fliers.

While fellow pace-setters Leicester returned to winning ways earlier in the day with a straightforward victory over Watford, Ipswich were also motivated by Leeds dropping points at Rotherham on Friday night and the opportunity to extend the gap to the chasing pack.

They were behind, though, within five minutes at The Hawthorns. Jed Wallace’s excellent cross from the right was just out of reach of Brandon Thomas-Asante, but the hosts nodded themselves in front from the following corner. Phillips delivered to the near post and Furlong tore away to meet it before glancing the ball into the far corner.

Albion had conceded just a single goal across their last five home matches before Saturday evening so Ipswich – who had lost just one of their first 16 league outings on their return to the Championship – would have to produce what many of their rivals had failed to.

West Brom, under Carlos Corberan, are mounting a top-six effort of their own and can be a belligerent unit on home soil.

McKenna’s side had few openings in the first half in which the home side were content to allow the visitors to see more of the ball. They were then sucker-punched at the beginning of the second half.

From their own corner, Ipswich were undone. West Brom broke away from deep inside their own half and the front three of Wallace, Thomas-Asante and Diangana combined. Thomas-Asante slipped Diangana in, inside the area, and he applied the finishing touch.

West Brom really should have killed the game moments later. Wallace was again sent sprinting down the right and he sprung into the penalty area. The Albion captain’s low cross ought to have been tapped in from close range by fellow winger Phillips, but he actually diverted the ball away from goal.

It would not prove costly as West Brom were good value for victory and might have won by more, but what they did produce was enough to send them up to fifth.

Russell Martin was proud that Southampton found a new way to win as they extended their unbeaten run to eight matches with a 2-1 victory over West Brom.

Will Smallbone and Adam Armstrong’s strikes maintained Saints’ promotion push, but it came in a much scrappier style than Martin would have liked.

The Baggies dominated the second half, equalised through Kyle Bartley and could have led but Darnell Furlong’s header came back off the crossbar.

Saints boss Martin said: “It was a different win to those we’ve had previously.

“I just said to the players it was built on character, spirit and togetherness. The energy from the crowd was amazing as well. It was that rather than dominance and control.

“They are one of the best teams we’ve played. I have so much respect for Carlos (Corberan). They make it seriously difficult for you. They have a lot of power and athleticism.

“In the second half the momentum swung and we were too untidy on the ball. Their goal was coming, we weren’t good enough in that period.

“We wanted the chance to fall to Adam, with his finishing abilities and mentalities.

“I enjoyed watching my players play and fight for each other. It is a big difference to the way we defended the goal at the start of the season.

“I can’t be entirely pleased with the performance but I can be proud of the way we won in a different way.

“I think the fans are now understanding the team and I hope they are starting to enjoy it. They stuck with it through a tough period.”

Saints took the lead in the fifth minute when Stuart Armstrong cut back to Adam Armstrong from the byline. His shot was saved but the rebound fell to Smallbone to convert from close range.

Conor Townsend thought he had cleared off the line but the goal-line technology confirmed West Brom had conceded the first goal in a match for the first time since September.

The visitors equalised after banging at the door for an extended spell. Brandon Thomas-Asante powered a header from Jed Wallace’s cross, with centre-back Bartley following up to bundle over the line for his second of the season.

The momentum continued when Townsend’s wicked cross was attacked by Darnell Furlong and crashed against the crossbar.

But Adam Armstrong went straight up the other end to calmly pull down Ryan Fraser’s cross and finish.

With Jan Bednarek suspended, Mason Holgate was given a rare start and Martin said: “Mason gave a brilliant performance today.

“Mason has had to wait for his opportunities. I put him in too early and he’s bounced back perfectly. The crowd were brilliant to give him man of the match.”

West Brom boss Corberan thought his side deserved a point for their second-half endeavour.

“I am not happy because we didn’t win,” he said. “We need to keep growing and attack better in their box and defend better in our box.

“If you analyse the way we play you will see how well we played in the second half. The volume of attack in the second half was more than the first.

“The fair result would have been a point for both teams.

“Every time we have lost the game before the international break but we have improved afterwards. If we can have those good performances as standard then we can be a competitive team.

“We need to do it against every type of opponent.

“We needed to be perfect today against a team like Southampton. We weren’t perfect in the first half and we weren’t perfect in finishing in the second half or how we defended their winner.

“We are frustrated because we go home with nothing.”

Adam Armstrong continued Southampton’s reputation as the Championship’s  late kings as his 79th-minute winner clinched a 2-1 victory over promotion rivals West Brom.

Will Smallbone had put Saints ahead early on before Kyle Bartley levelled things, with West Brom almost leading when Darnell Furlong hit the crossbar.

But Armstrong coolly prodded in his ninth goal of the season to grab the league-high eighth goal Saints have bagged in the last 15 minutes of their matches.

It extended Southampton’s unbeaten run to eight matches while halting West Brom’s three-game winning streak.

As they had in the previous seven games, Saints scored first.

Stuart Armstrong cut back to Adam Armstrong from the byline in the fifth minute. His shot was saved but the rebound fell to Smallbone to slam in from close range.

Conor Townsend thought he had cleared off the line but the goal-line technology confirmed West Brom had conceded the first goal in a match for the first time since September.

The hosts took hold of the game without testing Alex Palmer’s goal again, until the 28th minute.

Kyle Walker-Peters was released down the right, he stepped over to beat his defender before passing to Smallbone, via Kamaldeen Sulemana, but his snapshot had too much elevation and cleared the crossbar.

The Baggies rallied, found a powerful press and came knocking for an equaliser in the last 10 minutes of the first half.

Nathaniel Chalobah may have slipped when recording his side’s first shot but showed the intent.

Brandon Thomas-Asante’s shot was scuffed but was destined for the bottom corner had it not been for Taylor Harwood-Bellis throwing himself at the ball to head behind.

Turkish midfielder Okay Yokuslu then fired over from the corner of the box as Southampton were relieved by the whistle.

Mason Holgate had returned to the starting eleven in place of the suspended Jan Bednarek. The former West Brom loanee had a few nervy moments in the first half but grew into the game with a vital block to deny Thomas-Asante.

Still, the Baggies pushed without end product and in the 63rd minute Matt Phillips showed his directness to jinx off his flank before his curling shot bounced just wide.

There was no surprise when two minutes later the away side levelled.

Thomas-Asante powered a header from Jed Wallace’s cross, with centre-back Bartley following up to bundle over the line for his second goal of the season.

The momentum continued when Townsend’s wicked cross was attacked by Darnell Furlong and crashed into the crossbar.

It woke Saints up and with 11 minutes left,  they went straight up the other end and scored.

Adam Armstrong calmly pulled Ryan Fraser’s cross down at the back post and slotted in his ninth goal of the campaign. It was Saints’ only shot on target in the second period.

Gavin Bazunu produced a stunning stoppage-time save to deny Jayson Molumby and hold on to the three points.

West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan was delighted with West Brom’s aggression in the Baggies’ 3-1 victory over fellow play-off contenders Hull.

Corberan’s side have now lost only one of their last 10 championship fixtures and the victory over Hull also carried on their excellent home record over Hull, with Albion now unbeaten in nine against the Tigers.

Captain Jed Wallace gave Albion the lead on 14 minutes before they were pegged back just before half-time by a Lewie Coyle strike.

Matt Phillips and substitute Semi Ajayi netted in the second half to give the hosts all three points.

Corberan believed his side played well against one of the Championship’s most competitive teams.

“I’m pleased because we were playing a very competitive game, I knew it would be because I respect Hull City; they have put together good players with a good coach,” Corberan said.

“We were playing against one of the most competitive teams in the Championship and it was a massive defensive display to see if we could be solid and aggressive at the same time.

“The team was solid and we only made one mistake and it was their goal.

“In the second half we were more aggressive and attacked better and that for me was why we scored the goals.

“The way we scored the second goal it was one of the nicest goals we scored and with this goal the belief of the players, the confidence of the players in the way they kept competing was for me excellent.”

The head coach was also delighted with the display of Grady Diangana, who assisted both goals in the second half.

“He is one special player; we are really pleased to see him scoring goals and giving assists because he is very important to the other players in attack,” Corberan said.

“The fact we have more injuries in attack has helped him get more minutes, with these minutes he’s using them very well.”

Hull head coach Liam Rosenior could not oversee a first win for his side at the Hawthorns since a 3-0 victory in the Premier League in 2008.

The Tigers dropped to ninth in the Championship and Rosenior was frustrated at the result.

“We were in complete control and we gift the goal away. We probably do that move 1,000 times in training to perfect it and we make a mistake and that’s on me because I’m asking the team to play this way,” Rosenior said.

“The reason we play this way is the next 50 minutes of the game, we were absolutely on top.

“To come here to a team with the players they have on the pitch and completely dominate possession and go toe-to-toe, we were the better team and to throw it away in the manner that we did is so frustrating.”

Rosenior said the club lost four players this week to injury and Aaron Connolly became unavailable despite being named on the bench.

“I wanted to change Aaron Connolly and get him on the pitch but when he’s warming up in the first half his toe completely swells up so he was available and then became unavailable during the game,” Rosenior explained.

“That’s why we say we need a squad because we are going to have these setbacks and it’s how we respond to them.”

West Brom sealed a third consecutive Championship victory with a 3-1 win over Hull to stay in fifth in the table.

Captain Jed Wallace slotted home the opening goal on 14 minutes before Lewie Coyle scored only the third goal of his career to equalise four minutes before half-time for the visitors.

Matt Phillips grabbed his third goal of the season midway through the second half to put the hosts back in-front before Semi Ajayi secured the points with just under 20 minutes remaining.

The hosts produced a fast start with Wallace and Grady Diangana both having goal-bound attempts well blocked in the opening three minutes.

Hull though, backed by 1,780 travelling supporters, grew into the contest and Liam Delap flashed a ball across the face of goal, which nobody in black and amber anticipated, before Scott Twine appealed for a penalty after he went down under a challenge from Darnell Furlong.

West Brom took the lead through Wallace when Hull’s Jean Michael Seri gifted the ball to the forward and he calmly rolled it past Ryan Allsop for the game’s opening goal.

Hull began to dominate possession but found their opponents’ defence hard to break down.

Twine, who is yet to score for the club, struck a free kick from the edge of the penalty area straight into the West Brom wall after Kyle Bartley had fouled Delap.

However, Twine was to turn provider when his cross to the back post was met by the incoming Coyle and the Hull captain struck a volley that bounced into the far corner of the goal to bring the game level going into half-time.

Delap appealed for a penalty early in the second half after going down under the close attention of Conor Townsend.

Coyle though was again the man of the moment, this time in his defensive duties, when he put in a well-timed challenge to deny Phillips when the forward was about to pull the trigger.

There was another injury concern for Baggies manager Carlos Corberan when Bartley was forced off with a suspected shoulder injury and had to be replaced by fellow centre-back Ajayi.

The Baggies restored their advantage on 65 minutes when Diangana was released down the right wing, cut inside Jacob Greaves and showed composure to play the ball across to an unmarked Phillips who slotted the ball beyond Allsop.

Substitute Ajayi sealed the three points on 71 minutes when his shot deflected into the goal off Greaves, once again created by the good work of Diangana before the winger departed to a standing ovation.

Carlos Corberan was delighted after his West Brom side secured a 2-0 win against Coventry at the CBS Arena.

Grady Diangana pounced on a Ben Wilson error to slot home in the first half before Brandon Thomas-Asante fired in a second amid calls for offside from the Sky Blues’ back-line.

“The result of course was excellent,” said Corberan. “We know that Coventry is one team that didn’t lose at home so far, during the game we realised how difficult it was to win here tonight.

“The first goal was a collective action, Grady was showing how connected he is with the game because normally not every player will go for the second ball.

“The second was a very good action, very good pass of (Matt) Phillips, good running of Asante and the level of finish was excellent.

“I am very pleased to have the three points for the level of effort the players have put into the game tonight. In defence in the first half we need to defend much better. In attack we need to attack more, in the second half we improved in the counter attack but there are still things we need to do better to improve as a team.

“I didn’t watch the action (possible offside) so it’s impossible for me to make any decisions. You need to pause, to see with VAR to make the decision but on live, some actions are impossible.

“I think in one action if there is a clear offside it’s easy to see, if there is no clear offside it’s very difficult, and if there is no clear offside there is no advantage. I think VAR shows us sometimes that they disallow the goals in the action that you don’t see an advantage of the striker with the position of the defender.

“If there was an advantage I think the referee would have been watching. I hope it wasn’t offside because I always like to win with the results being fair.”

Coventry boss Mark Robins bemoaned a lack of belief within his side, who were handed their first home defeat since April and sit 20th in the Championship after three consecutive defeats.

Robins said: “The negative is obviously the result. We’ve got to a situation where we’ve lost the last three and we’ve conceded really poor goals and made some poor decisions.

“We’ve had plenty of the ball and got into good positions, but what I would say is we need to be more positive when we’ve got positions to shoot.

“We moved the ball well, we played through the midfield area pretty well and there are areas that we clearly need to be better in.

“There were some good things we did in the game but we can’t concede goals that give us a mountain to climb.

“Belief is a bit lacking in certain individuals but we made a lot of bad decisions as well.

“Ultimately they’ve got the win off the back of a goal we’ve given to them and an offside goal that wasn’t seen by the officials.

“I saw it live and it looked offside and then I went to have a look at the monitor and he was offside. But the action that led to it wasn’t right either. We tried to play offside, that was a major decision because we were still in the game, we had chances to equalise having gone a goal down.

“It’s poor by Ben Wilson. We can’t give people chances like that and expect people to keep the ball out of the net. It’s poor. We all make mistakes and it’s just how you deal with them and how you put those forward.”