West Brom vs Bournemouth

West Brom 2-0 Bournemouth: Baggies deliver big blow to Cherries' Championship title hopes after quickfire first-half goals from Alex Mowatt and Andy Carroll ...

It was 2-0 five minutes later. The visitors attacked first. Alex Mowatt opened the scoring for West Brom in the ninth minute with a superb strike

Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between West Brom and Bournemouth at The Hawthorns as Alex Mowatt and Andy Carroll seal ...

But we lacked that little bit of guile of artistry which you need to try to open the door." We huffed and puffed and tried to break a really stubborn side. Bournemouth's Scott Parker: "It was a bump in the road. There was an argument for a foul on Jordan Zemura for the first but it was a good finish and the second was a really poor goal from our point of view. Let's hope we can get to the levels." The visitors attacked first.

Two West Brom goals inside four minutes inflicted blows that Bournemouth never recovered from - despite having 17 shots.

Had very little space to work in the position (in the right half-space of a diamond) he was brought on to. Had a couple of half-chances where he looked to attack the space but was routinely crowded out. A second-half switch meant Anthony briefly operated wide on the right, but to little avail. Heavy first touches squandered promising openings and his shots in the warm-up - where he hit a camerawoman - continued into the game. Struggled to get into the game, with West Brom's left-wing back Conor Townsend tucking in and condensing the space Christie usually has to weave in-between the lines. Only made 29 passes in the 54 minutes he was on - the third-fewest of the 11 players who started.

Steve Bruce believes scoring two early goals was crucial against AFC Bournemouth as Albion recorded an impressive win over the promotion-chasers on ...

“We got after Bournemouth from the start and we managed to steal a few balls and put them under a bit of pressure. “We got off to great start, which always helps in a big game. “That’s something we’ve got to repair because when we play like we did tonight, we know we can be a handful.

Watch free-to-view highlights from the Baggies' midweek victory over the Cherries. Albion beat AFC Bournemouth 2-0 under The Hawthorns lights in the Sky Bet ...

Despite pressure from Bournemouth in the final stages and seven minutes of stoppage time, the Baggies managed to preserve their clean sheet and claim all three points in B71. And his side fired themselves into an early lead when, on the eight-minute mark, Mowatt smashed a superb effort home from the edge of the area. First half goals from Alex Mowatt and Andy Carroll - combined with a resolute defensive showing - were enough to see the Baggies bounce back against their high-flying south coast opponents.

Andy Carroll of West Bromwich Albion applauds the West Bromwich Albion Fans at the end of the Sky Bet Championship match between West Bromwich Albion and AFC ...

And he gets back in his area making goal saving headers and tackles. No one foresaw Carroll coming in and being Albion's top performer - but the truth is he has been. Tenacious again and brings the legs to Albion's midfield three. Like Furlong, tidy, but was caught out of possession a few times in the second period. Almost had a howler when conceding possession in the second half but Solanke fired over. Provided the cross that led to Mowatt's opener - and his delivery did cause problems at times.

Andy Carroll of West Bromwich Albion celebrates after scoring a goal to make it 2-0 during the Sky Bet Championship match between West Bromwich Albion and AFC ...

From that point, the Cherries huffed and puffed in a desperate bid to find a route back into the game. And Albion came close to wrapping up the points when the ball broke for Livermore on the edge of the box who fired inches over. With 20 minutes to go, Bournemouth were seeing a lot of the ball but with Albion defending solidly and restricting them to very little. And Albion proved to comfortably be the better of the two teams for the rest of the half with the visitors passive in possession and lacking any sort of cutting edge up front. They opened the scoring when Furlong charged down the right before whipping in a dangerous cross that was eventually cleared to Mowatt on the edge of the box. Albion really had been woeful at St Andrew's with the Baggies failing to register a single shot on target.

Bruce has changed it up at the front end of the pitch; Karlan Grant and Callum Robinson, who have both contributed more goals and assists than any other ...

Since, the Cherries have maintained a strong promotion charge in their second season back in the second tier, while Albion’s has fallen away dramatically by comparison since the turn of the year. Steve Bruce has refreshed his forward line by making two changes as West Bromwich Albion welcome promotion chasing Bournemouth to The Hawthorns for the rearranged fixture this evening. There is, though, a requirement for this group of players to post as strong a finish to the season as possible; certainly it would be in Bruce’s best interests going forward for Albion to accrue as many points as they can between now and May ahead of the summer and his own job prospects.

Live updates from The Hawthorns as Scott Parker's men look to consolidate their position in the automatic promotion slots.

The last two games #afcb have started with a zany new kick-off ploy. Matt Wells is conjuring a Dominic Solanke Fulham routine again. #afcb #afcb And that should, in theory, dispel any hopes of teams in the play-offs catching them. Nine games to go, starting with tonight.

Foul by Lloyd Kelly (Bournemouth). 90'+7' free_kick_won icon. Andy Carroll (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

But we lacked that little bit of guile of artistry which you need to try to open the door." We huffed and puffed and tried to break a really stubborn side. Bournemouth's Scott Parker: "It was a bump in the road. There was an argument for a foul on Jordan Zemura for the first but it was a good finish and the second was a really poor goal from our point of view. Let's hope we can get to the levels." The visitors attacked first.

West Brom just about keep themselves in the Championship play-off race with victory over Bournemouth.

Jamal Lowe (Bournemouth) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Attempt blocked. - Shots - Possession - 24Cahill - 22Pearson - 18Lowe - 17Stacey - 14Cantwell - 1Woodman We didn't have the quality in the final third to find those little openings." "Big Andy (Carroll) was rolling back the years.