West Brom continued their march towards automatic promotion with a 1-0 win over Coventry at the Hawthorns.
Baggies see off Midlands rivals for fifth straight win
West Brom's march towards securing an automatic promotion place continued as they saw off Midlands rivals Coventry 1-0 at the Hawthorns.
Steven Reid was the hero for Roberto Di Matteo's side, the on-loan Blackburn man notching 22 minutes in to put his side on their way to a fifth successive victory.
The hosts dominated the opening period and Robert Koren looked to have added to their advantage when his shot looked to have crossed the line, only for the officials to wave play on.
Coventry improved after the restart but wasted numerous chances to pull level, with Jon Stead and Clinton Morrison both guilty.
Dangerous
Coleman looked to combat Albion's threat by matching their 4-5-1 formation.
But it was the hosts who were the more dangerous in the early stages, Chris Brunt's left-wing cross almost deceiving Keiren Westwood before Ben Watson narrowly failed to connect with Joe Mattock's ball into the box from the same flank.
Coventry's threat in the opening 20 minutes mainly came via set-pieces and it was no surprise when it was the home faithful who were celebrating the game's opener midway through the first half.
Brunt's corner eluded everyone in the six-yard box, including the onrushing Abdoulaye Meite, and Reid was on hand amid a host of bodies at the back post to lash home from close range.
As the half wore on, Carson became a mere spectator between the posts for Albion despite the visitors enjoying their fair share of possession in the middle third.
And the lack of a real threat in attack must have been playing on Coleman's mind as half-time approached.
Driving seat
The half's controversial moment came just minutes before the interval as Koren appeared to send Graham Dorrans' free-kick over the line but, with the best efforts of Westwood to keep it out, the referee's assistant opted not to raise his flag.
Five minutes after the restart and the Republic of Ireland stopper again kept his side in the game, producing a fine diving reaction save after Koren's effort had taken a hefty deflection.
But Coventry were now providing more of a threat at the other end and they should have been level just after the hour mark but an unmarked Stead somehow diverted Sammy Clingan's inswinging free-kick wide from six yards.
Carl Baker then saw his deep ball sent back across the face of goal and avoid everyone, before failing the pull the trigger himself with another chance.
Substitute Morrison then almost snatched a point at the death but West Brom hung on to secure their eighth-successive victory at the Hawthorns and kept themselves firmly in the driving seat for second spot.
