Roman swoops to conquer

Roman Bednar celebrates his winner against Fulham

MATCH FACTS
Man of the match - Roman Bednar: The striker endured a difficult first half but he was a handful throughout for the Fulham defence and deserved more than the single goal
Moment of the match - Bednar had already scored once when he let fly from more than 30 yards, his effort beating Mark Schwarzer's outstretched hand but hitting the top of the bar.
Save of the match: Schwarzer was by far the busier keeper and he made a great point-blank block to deny Bednar again
Talking point: West Brom fully deserved their three points but do they have the quality up front to survive in the division?

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Roman Bednar earned West Brom a crucial three points as they edged a scrappy clash with Fulham.

The Czech striker bundled home the only goal of the game after 61 minutes to earn the Baggies a vital win.

Jonathan Greening's corner was turned back across goal by Ryan Donk and the former Hearts player was in the right place to stab the ball past Mark Schwarzer.

Bednar struggled in the first period but after his goal he looked a constant threat to the Fulham defence who rarely looked like getting back on level terms.

The closest they came was when Jimmy Bullard played a short free-kick to Danny Murphy whose low shot was deflected only inches wide.

Bednar had the chance to double his tally but his 30-yard shot hit the bar with Schwarzer at full-stretch.

Boss Tony Mowbray's faith in his strikers and midfielders to deliver sufficient goals after a stuttering start to the campaign is starting to be justified.

Bednar is looking more at home in the Premier League with every game, James Morrison is thriving on the flanks and in the middle of the pitch, Albion have the experience and know-how of skipper Jonathan Greening to fall back on.

And Mowbray looks to have picked up a real find in Dutch Under-21 international right-back Gianni Zuiverloon.

Fulham clearly missed the presence of the suspended Andy Johnson in attack and seldom posed a threat as the hosts kept a second successive clean sheet.

The first clear-cut chance fell to Bednar after seven minutes - but he failed to make the most of the opportunity.

Greening's reverse pass picked out the run of Bednar who got goal-side of Aaron Hughes but, after cutting back inside, he clipped his shot straight into the hands of Schwarzer.

Deadlock

Carson, in fine form in recent games, was called into meaningful action for the first time when he held onto a low curling drive from Clint Dempsey.

Former West Brom star Gera was receiving plenty of vocal support from the Baggies fans but he nearly silenced them on the half-hour mark when he came close to breaking the deadlock.

Dempsey set up the opportunity when he squared the ball back from the by-line into the path of the Hungarian and his precise side-footed effort flew only inches wide.

Albion made a positive start to the second half and came close to going ahead within two minutes of the restart.

A deep cross from the left flank by Greening picked out Ryan Donk and the on-loan defender crashed a fierce header against the outside of a post.

Valero had a fierce drive blocked and then Bednar took a chip into the box from Robinson into his stride but volleyed wide.

The pressure was now relentless on the Fulham goal and a close-range header from Morrison was somehow cleared off the line by Danny Murphy.

But Fulham finally cracked after 61 minutes through Bednar's third goal of the campaign.

Greening's corner was turned back across goal by Donk and the former Hearts player was in the right place to stab the ball past Schwarzer.

It was no more than Albion deserved but they were nearly caught napping almost immediately by the Cottagers.

Bullard played a short free-kick to Murphy and his low 20-yard shot was deflected only inches wide.

Bednar had the chance to wrap up the points but Schwarzer did well to block his close-range effort from a Robert Koren centre.

Schwarzer made a fine point-blank save to deny Bednar a second goal from a Koren cross.

Bednar also rattled the woodwork with a rasping drive from fully 40 yards which beat the dive of Schwarzer but the Baggies still ran out worthy winners.