A strong second-half display helped Albion cruise to victory over Hull City at The Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon.
Jed Wallace saw his early opener cancelled out by Lewie Coyle’s driven strike before the interval, but an influential Grady Diangana would help Carlos Corberán’s men over the line as he created for Matt Phillips and Semi Ajayi to find the net and seal a third straight Sky Bet Championship victory.
Early pressure did the trick for the Baggies when, on 14 minutes, their skipper stepped up to give the hosts an important advantage.
Hull’s attempts to play out from defence back-fired as Jean Michael Seri’s loose pass was intercepted by Wallace - who composed himself before slotting into the bottom corner to make it 1-0.
Diangana tried to double the lead just minutes later, but his powerful effort was blocked inside the box. From there, the visitors enjoyed a spell of the ball which eventually led to the equaliser.
Scott Twine’s cross found the run of opposition captain Coyle and, after cutting in from the right, the full-back volleyed in to level matters before the break.
City saw plenty of possession during the early knockings of the second 45, although Albion very nearly combined to score a fine team goal to edge them back ahead.
It started when their DR Congo international brought the ball down out of the sky expertly before setting Phillips through down the centre. However, the conditions took the ball away from the Baggies’ No.10, allowing Hull to scramble clear.
Having failed to score from good build-up play during the opening exchanges of the second 45, Corberán’s men made absolutely sure they got back in front with a fine, flowing move.
Escaping the Tigers’ press in the centre, a clever turn from Wallace meant he set Diangana bursting down the right flank. The winger steadied himself with City on the retreat to find Phillips inside the area, and he used his time well to guide a well-placed finish into the bottom corner.
At 2-1, Liam Rosenior’s team attempted to pen Albion in their own half. Still, the home team found a way past their Yorkshire counterparts to create a two-goal difference between the sides - with Diangana at the heart of things again.
Clever feet forged a way into the box for the Baggies attacker and after some hard work to set the visitors on the back foot, he had the awareness to find Ajayi - whose clever run was rewarded when he connected with Grady’s pass to force the ball home for a third of the afternoon.
Brandon Thomas-Asante nearly added further shine on an impressive win when his effort has fumbled away by City shot-stopper Ryan Allsop, but an energetic second-half display proved to be the difference for Corberán's men, who secured back-to-back home wins on a wet and windy day in B71.
Albion: Palmer; Furlong, Kipre, Bartley (Ajayi 55), Townsend; Diangana (Fellows 77), Mowatt (Molumby 85), Yokuslu (Chalobah 77), Phillips; Wallace (Sarmiento 85), Thomas-Asante.
Substitutes: Griffiths, Pieters, Taylor, Pipa.
Attendance: 23,333