Stoke City vs West Bromwich Albion. Sky Bet Championship.
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Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Stoke City and West Brom at the bet365 Stadium as the Baggies kept their play-off hopes alive thanks to Jayson Molumby's double.
Saturday 15 April 2023 19:03, UK
West Brom kept their play-off hopes alive as they came from behind to edge a fiery Midlands derby and defeat Stoke 2-1.
Jacob Brown handed the hosts the lead when he headed home an accurate Morgan Fox cross on the half-hour mark.
However, the Potters' first-half momentum was stunted with Ben Wilmot and Baggies' forward Daryl Dike both stretchered off the field from separate incidents.
Carlos Corberan's visitors emerged for the second period with the wind in their sails, with Jayson Molumby levelling shortly before the hour mark.
And the Republic of Ireland international completed the turnaround with his second strike, securing West Brom a first away victory in eight matches on their travels.
A miserable afternoon for the hosts was compounded when Ben Pearson was sent off for a second booking in stoppage time.
Stoke started brightly with Dwight Gayle - who scored 23 league goals for West Brom whilst on loan in 2018/19 - nearly inflicting damage on his former employers.
A brisk Potters attack ended with the ball popping up fortuitously for the forward, but Gayle dragged his drilled shot narrowly wide of the far post.
The hosts' early momentum continued to grow with captain Josh Laurent's powerful header drawing a smart save from Alex Palmer.
Eventually, Stoke's persistence was rewarded inside 30 minutes when Brown notched his ninth goal of the season.
Defender Fox advanced forward with purpose and his pinpoint cross found the onrushing Scotland striker, who nodded beyond Palmer from close range.
An entertaining opening period was then disrupted by two long stoppages, which resulted in more than 13 minutes of stoppage time.
Potters' defender Wilmot and West Brom forward Dike were both stretchered off after suffering awkward landings, with the first half drawing to a disrupted close.
The Baggies returned to the dressing room in desperate need of inspiration and Corberan's instructions paid dividends after the restart.
Karlan Grant was the first to go close for the visitors with the substitute's venomous strike forcing a smart save from Jack Bonham.
However, the Potters' stopper had his celebrations cut short as he was left picking the ball out of his own net from the resulting corner.
Brandon Thomas-Asante's strike deflected off team-mate Nathaniel Chalobah onto the crossbar before Molumby eventually converted the rebound.
West Brom should have taken the lead when Thomas-Asante advanced through on goal, but the forward's strong effort was saved excellently by Bonham.
But the lively Thomas-Asante had his blushes saved moments later when Molumby completed his brace and his side's comeback, again in strange circumstances.
John Swift's shot was blocked on the line by Dujon Sterling with Grant striking the crossbar on the follow-up before Molumby eventually bundled home the winner.
A fiery contest boiled over in added time with Pearson given his marching orders by referee Andy Woolmer.
Stoke's Alex Neil:
"The referee's performance is as poor as I've seen at senior level. The way to gauge a referee's performance is if you don't really notice them, they've had a pretty good game. Today, he was like a pantomime villain for both teams, particularly for us and you could see that boil over.
"Our players played with anger and frustration due to some of the decisions as they felt they were hard done by. They didn't play with a freedom or a focus on the game that they should have had, and that affected some of the performances. Getting Ben [Pearson] sent off is stupid for him and disappointing for us, but you can understand his frustration. If the referee got control of the game, I don't think anybody would have any complaints. There was a lot of frustration and anger. It was a frustrating day, in more ways than one."
West Brom's Carlos Corberan:
"I am very proud of the mentality that the players showed today. When you are suffering; you either give up or you face up and overcome, and that's what we did today. We showed the character that was necessary to win the three points. The difference between the first and second half was the determination; in the second half, we played with a lot of heart and put that on the pitch.
"The goals were goals of desire, passion and mentality and this is what we are and what we can do. These are the most important goals that we've scored so far this season. This win means a lot because we stop our momentum, that wasn't the best one, and we showed a lot of character to face that adversity. We wanted to celebrate with the fans; they gave us a lot of support and it means a lot."
