West Brom vs Crystal Palace match report: Baggies hold off Eagles fight back to secure three points

West Bromwich Albion 3 Crystal Palace 2

(Getty Images)

At the end of a week in which he issued a belated public apology to Albion fans for threatening to go on strike last summer after being denied a move to Tottenham, striker Saido Berahino turned in the best display of his troubled season as Tony Pulis’s team put their dismal recent form behind them against Palace.

Albion simply oozed quality as three goals in the space of 18 first-half minutes left Palace crushed. Yet in the end they had to fight for their three points after Alan Pardew’s side staged a second-half comeback.

Yet the opening 45 minutes had been largely one-way traffic as Albion produced some scintillating football.

West Bromwich this time oozed quality as three goals in the space of 18 first-half minutes left Palace crushed.

The first, after 12 minutes, saw the excellent Salomon Rondon control a ball played from defence, slip it inside to Saido Berahino then sprint forward along the inside-right channel to receive a superbly weighted return pass from Berahino.

Driving into the penalty area, the Venezuelan striker aimed a powerful shot towards the left-hand corner of the net. Goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey kept it out by sticking out his right boot but merely propelled the ball into the path of Craig Gardner, who thumped it into the net.

Eight minutes later, with the home crowd scarcely able to believe what they were seeing, Albion doubled their advantage as Palace’s defending left manager Alan Pardew shaking his head.

Damien Delaney conceded a free-kick outside the penalty area by hauling down Stéphane Sessègnon, Palace sought to defend Gardner’s delivery with virtually all of their players in the box but no one picked up Craig Dawson, who headed firmly into the corner of the net.

By the time the half-hour mark had arrived, the contest was effectively done and dusted, thanks to another fine goal, this one the best of the three, in terms of individual technique. This time Rondon combined with Sessègnon in the build-up and Berahino supplied the finish, the striker adjusting his position and shape brilliantly to steer home Sessègnon’s perfect cross left-footed on the volley.

Emmanuel Adebayor, unable to make any impact on the game in the way he might have hoped, went into referee Jon Moss’s book for an ugly foul on Dawson. If Palace’s confidence, dented by the collapse of their league form, had been raised in any way by their FA Cup win at Tottenham, it was taking a real battering again now.

By contrast, the home side were flying, although they suffered a blow just before half-time when Chris Brunt, the player hit in the face by a coin propelled by an angry Albion fan following their FA Cup defeat at Reading, was taken off on a stretcher, appearing to damage a knee as he landed following a collision with Wilfried Zaha.

Berahino almost added a second goal before half-time, almost diverting in a Gardner free kick with his heel, and struck the angle of post and bar in the second half, turning Martin Kelly before curling an exquisite shot beyond the reach of Hennessey.

Pardew withdrew Adebayor at half-time, sending on Yannick Bolasie as he continues his comeback from a hip injury and there was an element of panic in Albion’s play for a while after a mix-up between defender Jonas Olsson and goalkeeper Ben Foster allowed Connor Wickham to cut the arrears for Palace.

But they soon regained their poise and a full recovery from Palace never looked a genuine proposition, although they might have had a claim for a penalty when Fletcher impeded Bolasie.

A second goal for Wickham, lashed into the top right-hand corner following a half-cleared free kick, made for a nervous final 10 minutes for the home side, plus a further five minutes of stoppage time. Bolasie had a claim for a penalty against Darren Fletcher turned down and Gardner headed off the line from substitute Mile Jedinak, but Albion held on for a potentially vital three points.

West Bromwich Albion (4-2-3-1): Foster; Dawson, McAuley, Olsson, Brunt (Chester, 44); Yacob, Fletcher; Berahino, Gardner, Sessègnon (McClean 74); Rondon (Sandro, 86).

Crystal Palace (4-3-2-1): Hennessey; Kelly, Dann, Delaney, Ward; Cabaye (Gayle, 79) Ledley (Jedinak, 80), Mutch; Zaha, Adebayor (Bolasie, h-t); Wickham.

Referee: Jon Moss.

Man of the match: Berahino (West Brom).

Match rating: 8/10.