Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between West Brom and Rotherham at The Hawthorns as goals from Jed Wallace, Grady Diangana and Brandon Thomas-Asante steered the Baggies to a comfortable victory.
Saturday 17 December 2022 18:50, UK
West Brom picked up their fifth successive Sky Bet Championship victory under new boss Carlos Corberan as they beat Rotherham 3-0.
The excellent Jed Wallace opened the scoring inside 20 minutes at The Hawthorns against a Millers side who offered desperately little in reply.
Albion widened the gap when Grady Diangana finished in the 58th minute and the points were wrapped up in the 70th minute when Brandon Thomas-Asante converted the rebound from a penalty he had won.
West Brom emerged victorious from Sunderland on Monday evening, and goalscorers Tom Rogic and Daryl Dike were rewarded with starts against a side who returned to action after the international break with a home loss to Bristol City.
Albion began confidently. Wallace slipped Dike in and, with the angle tight, he pulled the ball back. Intended for Rogic, the pass did not reach its intended target and the visitors escaped.
Millers goalkeeper Viktor Johansson was kept busy in a first half which eventually became one-way traffic.
He tipped a Matt Phillips shot around the post but could do nothing to prevent Wallace deservedly breaking the deadlock, racing onto Rogic's perfectly weighted through-ball and sliding the ball home.
The hosts, encouraged by that opener, continued to pour forwards. Okay Yokuslu drilled a shot from distance which flicked the outside of the post, while Johansson was called upon again on two further occasions to deny Wallace another breakthrough.
Rotherham always had a chance while the advantage remained at just one goal and Albion goalkeeper Alex Palmer was forced to act when Chiedozie Ogbene was expertly played in.
Corberan - as he did at Sunderland - turned to his bench and the changes instantly had the desired effect.
From the next move after the substitution Wallace drilled a low cross into the penalty area and Diangana turned the ball past Johansson to give the hosts the breathing space they craved.
West Brom's desire for more goals, with their fresh legs in the final third, was evident.
One long punt forwards in the 70th minute from goalkeeper Palmer sent Thomas-Asante racing away. The forward got the better of Cameron Humphreys before being nudged over, and referee John Busby immediately pointed to the spot.
With regular penalty taker Karlan Grant still on the bench, Thomas-Asante grabbed the ball himself and, although Johansson parried his spot-kick, the attacker quickly followed up and turned in the rebound.
Albion, who are at Coventry in the coming week, jump up a place to 16th with this victory, but Rotherham, in 19th, continue to hover over the relegation zone after successive defeats.
West Brom's Carlos Corberan: "We started the game with determination, and we created a chance in the first minutes of the game with the pass of [Daryl] Dike for [Tom] Rogic. After that it was more interrupted, with throw-ins for them and us. There were a lot of set-pieces which didn't allow the team to find a tempo or intensity that we wanted.
"From minute 15 to minute 35 we showed personality and that was the consequence - the goal that we scored. We were concentrating on trying to perform to the level that this game was demanding. The last minutes of the first half we gave the ball to the opponent more than we should. We improved this in the second half."
Rotherham's Matt Taylor: "We have given away goals that are uncharacteristic, I said last week that I hope it wouldn't happen again, and it's happened again - against a good team, we have to speak about the personnel they have on the pitch.
"The nature of the goals is hard to take and it's another uphill task. Defensively we have to give ourselves a better chance than that, before we start addressing our in-possession game which, at times, was OK without offering any threat to the opposition box."
