Baggies boss delighted with first Prem win of season
STEVE Clarke was delighted to see his men deliver the kind of winning performance he knows they are capable of with a 3-0 drubbing of Sunderland.The Baggies broke their home goal duck in style with a trio of strikes to secure their first Barclays Premier League victory of the season.
Stephane Sessegnon opened the scoring within 20 minutes of his Baggies bow against his former club.
Liam Ridgewell notched 14 minutes from time before man-of-the-match Morgan Amalfitano grabbed a deserved goal in stoppage time on his home debut.
“I’m pleased for the players,” said Clarke.
“It’s been a difficult start to the season.
“We’ve let ourselves down and haven’t played the kind of football we know we’re capable of.
“So, today it was nice to get a win.
“We’ve defended well this year.
“We conceded a lot of goals towards the end of last season.
“We’ve tightened up a little bit and we’re much stronger defensively.
“So, to score three goals from open play, keep a clean sheet and pick up your first three-point haul of the season means everyone will go home tonight feeling a little bit better."
The Hawthorns chief added: “It was a game we felt we should win.
“We started slowly and were a little bit cagey and nervous.
“But that’s understandable because we’re the home team and there was a little bit more pressure on us.
“Once we got our noses in front I thought we had a really good control of the game.
“And circumstances went for us today as well.
“At 1-0 before you get to the last nervous 15 minutes they lost Steven Fletcher to an injury and went down to ten men as they’d used all their subs, so that helps - and immediately we made it 2-0.
“All-in-all it was a good afternoon for us.”