West Bromwich Albion vs Huddersfield Town. Sky Bet Championship.
The HawthornsAttendance24,685.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between West Brom and Huddersfield at The Hawthorns as a John Swift penalty steered the Baggies to a narrow victory on Saturday afternoon.
Saturday 11 March 2023 19:07, UK
Carlos Corberan enjoyed a winning reunion against Huddersfield as West Brom stretched their unbeaten home run in the Sky Bet Championship into double figures with a 1-0 victory at The Hawthorns.
John Swift's penalty on the half hour made it nine wins and a draw in 10 games for Albion and kept Huddersfield - who Corberan led to the Championship play-off final last season - in the relegation zone.
Albion's third win in four - all without conceding - put them three points outside the play-off zone with 10 games oleft.
By contrast, Huddersfield have failed to enjoy a 'new manager bounce' following Neil Warnock's return from retirement to replace Mark Fotheringham.
The Terriers are now six points adrift of the safety line after one win in five under the 74-year-old - their only victory in their last 12 games - while they have failed to score in six of their last seven.
Several thousand West Brom supporters demonstrated against owner Guochuan Lai before the game with a peaceful protest.
They were soon cheered by their team, who attacked from the start with Huddersfield seemingly content to sit back and try to contain them.
Ironically, Huddersfield had the first opportunity when centre-back Tom Lees sent a free header over the bar from Josh Koroma's inswinging corner.
That apart, Albion dominated. Erik Pieters' low drive hit the shins of goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik before a defender hacked the ball away.
Pieters was unusually involved in a lot of attacking play in the early stages and his chip sent Daryl Dike clear but the American striker missed the ball as it dropped invitingly out of the air for the volley.
Okay Yokuslu also threatened from distance for the Baggies but his low 30-yard drive skidded just wide.
Albion's persistence paid off when they won a penalty.
Conor Townsend placed himself where he knew Matty Pearson would challenge and the defender obliged as they tussled for Jed Wallace's pass after Jayson Molumby had switched play.
Swift made no mistake from the spot, drilling the ball firm and low to Vaclik's right, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way on the half hour.
Huddersfield wasted a chance to equalise with the first opening of the second half.
Jack Rudoni split the defence for David Kasumu but the forward dragged a poor shot wide with only goalkeeper Josh Griffiths to beat.
Albion responded when Wallace crossed for the unmarked Dike but his side-footed effort from 15 yards was well blocked by Ben Jackson.
Dike was involved again as he challenged in the air for Darnell Furlong's deep cross but the ball seemed to bounce off Lees before being gratefully collected by Vaclik on the line.
Substitute Tom Rogic went close to Albion's second at the death but his placed shot was held by Vaclik diving to his left.
West Brom's Carlos Corberan:
"I always analyse the opponent a lot but I always focus on the things how I can help my team. My mind is only on this. Because of the way I was brought up I've got massive respect for every opponent I play. I'm always very pleased when my team wins, especially when it's as a consequence to the performance. It was a competitive one, where two teams played with determination to get the three points for different reasons.
"Both teams had the motivation to get the three points to improve their position in the table. With Huddersfield fighting for points to stay in the division, it made it very complicated to play against them. The team played well in the first half but it was a different type of defensive set-up we had to face. We adapted well to the demands of the game, with the moments of quality from Jed Wallace on the left and Adam Reach on the right."
Huddersfield's Neil Warnock:
"I can't fault them at all. If the lads play like they did today, I can't complain. That's probably the game that's pleased me the most. You could sense the crowd were nervous and if we'd have got a goal in front they'd have been even more nervous.
"I said to the players 'if we can go for the first 20 minutes without conceding, you'll hear the crowd go quiet', and they did. Everything went right until a silly, lazy penalty."
