West Bromwich Albion vs Hull City. Premier League.
The HawthornsAttendance24,818.
Saturday 10 January 2015 19:17, UK
A second-half strike from Saido Berahino gave West Brom a narrow 1-0 win over Hull, in Tony Pulis' first league game in charge.
In a match where clear cut chances were few and far between, Berahino smashed home Victor Anichebe’s indirect free-kick from inside the area in the 78th minute, after Allan McGregor had handled Ahmed Elmohamady’s needless back-pass.
Hull City, forced into two first-half substitutions as strikers Nikica Jelavic and Abel Hernandez both went off injured, rarely threatened Ben Foster in the home goal.
Berahino came close on two occasions for the hosts in the first half, dragging a shot wide after exchanging passes with Stephane Sessegnon, before later cutting inside Alex Bruce on the edge of the area and producing a low save from McGregor.
Steve Bruce was forced in to his 1000th substitution as a Premier League manager in the 33rd minute when Jelavic hobbled off with a knee injury, while a groin problem saw Hernandez replaced just a few minutes later.
Robbie Brady produced the visitors’ best opportunity five minutes before the interval, forcing Foster to palm over the bar after firing a powerful shot from a tight angle.
Brown Ideye should have put West Brom ahead late on in the first half, but dragged his effort wide of the post when one-on-one with McGregor.
Berahino continued to pressure the Hull defence in the second half, although there was no West Brom team-mate to latch on to his drilled ball across the six yard box in the 51st minute.
The second half followed the same pattern as the first, with both sides enjoying spells of possession but at times lacking quality in the final third.
Elmohamady squandered a chance to give Hull the lead in the 74th minute, as the Egyptian was slow to react to Quinn’s cross towards Tom Ince only being partially cleared, meaning his shot was charged down.
Hull pushed forward after falling behind, but Ince pulling his effort wide in injury time after turning Lescott was the closest the Tigers came to finding an equaliser.
