Cardiff City vs West Bromwich Albion. Sky Bet Championship.
Cardiff City StadiumAttendance18,248.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Cardiff City and West Brom at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday | Jeremy Sarmiento strikes Baggies winner in second half.
Tuesday 28 November 2023 23:08, UK
Jeremy Sarmiento produced a moment of magic to give West Brom a precious 1-0 win at Cardiff.
Sarmiento's second Albion goal five minutes after the restart lit up a contest that had been largely forgettable until that point and was enough to take West Brom into the top three of the Sky Bet Championship.
The Ecuador winger, on a season-long loan from Brighton, was at the World Cup this time last year and his goal would not have looked out of place at that tournament.
Sarmiento broke down the left before cutting inside Josh Bowler and unleashing a vicious curling 25-yard shot that flew into the far corner of Alex Runarsson's net.
Although not as spectacular as Alejandro Garnacho's stunning overhead kick for Manchester United at Everton on Sunday, it will be a chief contender for West Brom's goal of the season.
Albion's fifth win in six games moved them above Leeds and Southampton - who both play on Wednesday - and seven points behind second-placed Ipswich.
Victory would have taken Cardiff above Albion, but the Bluebirds were flat throughout as they slipped to a second successive home defeat.
The game quickly settled into a cautious affair with neither side willing to take too many risks.
Cedric Kipre, who spent last season on loan at Cardiff and whose April winner at Rotherham virtually guaranteed the Bluebirds' survival, was on hand for Albion to block from former team-mate Joe Ralls.
West Brom struggled to make an impact in the final third and were handicapped by the departure of Jed Wallace, who left the action holding his arm and in obvious pain.
Okay Yokuslu fired wildly from 25 yards for the visitors before Sarmiento and Bowler tangled at the other end.
Bowler went down to some half-hearted penalty appeals as Callum Robinson, against his former employers, picked up the loose ball and shot over.
The deadlock was almost broken after 31 minutes when Cardiff were exposed defensively from their own corner.
Albion had a four-on-two situation but Grady Diangana delayed the final pass and the stretching Sarmiento could only trickle his effort against the post.
Bowler, Cardiff's biggest attacking threat down the left, immediately escaped marker Conor Townsend and shimmied his way past Kipre but Alex Palmer was off his line quickly to smother.
Sarmiento's sublime strike gave Albion the edge as both sides turned heavily to their bench for the final half-hour.
Yokuslu had excelled in the midfield battle before being withdrawn in the final quarter and Albion should have doubled their advantage 15 minutes from time.
Ryan Wintle sliced Darnell Furlong's long throw to the far post where the unmarked Brandon Thomas-Asante directed his header over.
Cardiff stirred in the final 10 minutes as Rubin Colwill made a lively impact from the bench, the Wales international having two shots blocked, and Bowler and Manolis Siopis blasted over.
But the night belonged to Carlos Corberan's Albion and in particular Sarmiento.
Cardiff's Erol Bulut:
"I didn't mention anything about referees because I respect them and I think they need to respect Cardiff more. This was a penalty and we will report it. I don't want to speak but they are pushing me. They are costing me many points. I don't want to report it.
"We watched it [the goal] and I spoke with the goalkeeper coach (Mario Galinovic) and he said he [Runarsson] couldn't catch the ball. I have to see it, but if the goalkeeper coach says this, it's a really good shot. We don't have to allow that shot. But we should push the opponent to the line."
West Brom's Carlos Corberan:
"It was total opposite win. This result was the consequence of the team competing with maturity when we couldn't find the football we wanted to create. The first half was very difficult to impose our style, we couldn't find more than four or five passes because we couldn't link enough.
"It was very important for me not to be frustrated but to fix details. We improved the possession in the second half and had the ball in better positions. We had to show defensive spirit in the second half to secure the three points."
