Gera gives Baggies big win
Zoltan Gera's header earned West Brom a vital 1-0 win at home to Everton.
Zoltan Gera's header boosted West Brom's battle to beat the drop as the hosts edged past Everton at The Hawthorns.
The Hungary international pounced in the second half of a largely dire game to put The Baggies level on points with Southampton on the fringe of the relegation zone.
But for Everton, their UEFA Champions League dream is looking increasingly fragile after the defeat leaves them just one point ahead of city rivals Liverpool.
The first half at The Hawthorns was hardly a compelling advertisement for The Premiership, with these two teams looking like they would struggle to stand out in the Sunday league.
Chances were at a premium, with only one shot on target during an opening 45 minutes which never rose above the mundane.
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But while that went into Everton's statistics column, the closest the game came to a goal was on ten minutes after Alessandro Pistone had carelessly fouled Geoff Horsfield near the corner flag.
Jonathan Greening whipped in a dangerous free kick but Thomas Gaardsoe could only plant his header against the crossbar from five yards.
The midfielders were straining their necks as the long ball prevailed and, from one such punt down pitch by David Weir, Marcus Bent found space to shoot straight at Russell Hoult.
Lee Carsley curled an effort wide for the visitors, while Kieran Richardson and Gera were hopelessly off target with shots from distance.
A mix-up between Hoult and Neil Clement almost gave Leon Osman a sniff of goal before Carsley required treatment after feeling the full force of a Gera thunderbolt.
In first half injury time, Ronnie Wallwork's cross caused panic in the home defence as the match trudged towards a banal stalemate at the break.
It took 15 minutes for the second half to flicker into life as Everton strung together easily the best passage of play in the match.
Osman and Bent combined to feed Mikel Arteta on the fringes of the box but, rather than shoot, the Spaniard elected to feed the ball back to Bent, who rashly launched his attempt into the back of the stands.
Then, on 63 minutes, West Brom scored from their first shot on target in the game. Everton failed to deal with a bog-standard cross-field pass and Greening picked up the pieces. He whipped in a deep cross and Gera rose in determined fashion to head home at the far post.
The goalscorer had a lucky escape five minutes later when the defensive side of his game was put to the test. Tim Cahill looked to latch on to Kevin Kilbane's flick-on but appeared to have his arm held by Gera, although the Australian's theatrical tumble in the box hardly pressed his claims for a penalty to referee Graham Poll.
The Baggies were denied by the woodwork for the second time in the match on 70 minutes as the hosts counter-attacked with purpose.
Martin Albrechtsen raced on to a long ball and fed possession to Kieran Richardson. The youngster, on loan from Manchester United, showed a neat trick or two before slipping a precise pass into space for Albrechtsen but the Dane's shot rebounded off the base of the post.
Everton struggled to get back into the game until ten minutes from time when Bent almost took full advantage of poor West Brom defending. A long ball found its way through to the striker and his shot swerved ferociously but Hoult reacted quickly to beat the ball away.
After Richardson wasted a great chance for The Baggies to nick a second goal on the counter-attack, Bent again sought to test Hoult, only to drag his shot wide.
West Brom could have put the seal on the win two minutes from time as Geoff Horsfield's persistence enabled him to roll the ball across the six-yard box but Gera's low drive was kept out by Nigel Martyn.
Click here for player ratings| West Bromwich Albion | Team Statistics | Everton |
| 1 | Goals | 0 |
| 0 | 1st Half Goals | 0 |
| 2 | Shots on Target | 2 |
| 5 | Shots off Target | 5 |
| 3 | Blocked Shots | 2 |
| 7 | Corners | 7 |
| 13 | Fouls | 20 |
| 6 | Offsides | 3 |
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 2 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 63.2 | Passing Success | 68.6 |
| 44 | Tackles | 38 |
| 54.5 | Tackles Success | 71.1 |
| 45.7 | Possession | 54.3 |
| 46.7 | Territorial Advantage | 53.3 |
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