Hull City 1-2 West Brom: FLW reports as Baggies end 8-game winless streak | OneFootball

FLW report live from the MKM Stadium

West Bromwich Albion returned to winning ways for the first time in eight Championship games, seeing off Hull City 2-1 at the MKM Stadium.

Two goals in the space of five first-half minutes from Karlan Grant and Josh Maja proved decisive for Carlos Corberan's outfit, who climbed back into the play-off places with three points, despite conceding to Joao Pedro in the latter stages of the first period.

However, Hull's own winless run now stretches to seven games, with pressure likely to continue mounting on German boss Tim Walter.

After four minutes, Cody Drameh found himself in space to whip in an inviting ball, but in a similar pattern to a number of Hull's chances against Portsmouth and Oxford, the full-back's cross evaded all in Black and Amber.

The first chance for the West Midlands outfit saw a short free-kick played out towards Tom Fellows, who saw his cross - intended for Mason Holgate - well dealt with by the Tigers defence.

However, the visitors would take the lead just seconds later, as Karlan Grant cut in from the left flank and drill his effort, via an Alfie Jones deflection, past Ivor Pandur and into the bottom left-hand corner.

Despite falling behind, Hull looked to immediately restore parity, and the recently prolific Xavier Simons could count himself unfortunate to see his effort crash off the crossbar.

But, just five minutes after falling behind, Hull would gift the Baggies the simplest of second goals.

Darnell Furlong was left completely unopposed to flick his header goalwards after Mikey Johnston's cross, with Josh Maja eventually profiting from close range to net his ninth goal of the season, presenting Walter's men with a mountain to climb.

City then saw the faintest of penalty appeals come in vain as Abdus Omur felt he was held by Torbjorn Heggem, with Regan Slater's subsequent effort blocked by the Turkish playmaker after a loss of balance.

Slater then searched for Joao Pedro, but the experienced striker's attempts to reach the midfielder's cross were halted by Holgate's defensive nous.

Hull then nearly shot themselves in the foot for a third time in the first 45 minutes, as Lewie Coyle's short backpass was intercepted by Grant, who opted for a square ball across to Maja, with the hosts lucky to see the ball eventually drift behind for a corner.

Coyle then found himself the time and space to fire in a shot from 20 yards out, but the full-back was unable to add to his tally for the season, with Callum Styles on hand to prevent the danger.

The home side's pressure would eventually yield a route back into the contest as Pedro netted his second goal for the club, with the experienced striker rising high to guide a sublime Charlie Hughes effort past Palmer with 41 minutes on the clock.

Hull looked to build on their ending to the first period, with Burstow looking to test Palmer just three minutes after the restart. However, the former Sunderland man's effort lacked the necessary power to trouble the Albion keeper.

The summer signing then linked up nicely with Coyle, and a cross from the outside of his foot caused uncertainty among the Baggies ranks, with Palmer once again forced into action.

Slater then saw a glorious chance go begging as Omur crafted the initial opening by dispossessing Furlong and driving upfield. But, the combative midfielder was unable to nod home from close range, spurning his header high and wide.

Heggem then looked to restore a two-goal advantage for Corberan's side, but his audaciously acrobatic effort was diverted behind by a full-stretch Pandur.

Tigers substitute Ryan Longman - making his first appearance of the season - then sent a teasing low ball across the box, which Pedro was unable to connect with amid pressure from the Norweigan centre-back.

With Gustavo Puerta beginning to drift out to the right side, a searching ball from the Colombian found the advancing Drameh, who saw his effort thwarted by Furlong.

Hughes was the next to try his luck with a speculative effort, but the defender's drive couldn't make it past the head of Jayson Molumby.

A flurry of late chances came and went for Hull, with Chris Bedia and Joao Pedro heading over as Albion eventually saw out the encounter, before a chorus of boos once again greeted the final whistle in HU3.

Player Ratings

Hull City

Ivor Pandur - 5.5

Lewie Coyle - 7

Alfie Jones - 6.5

Charlie Hughes - 7.5

Cody Drameh - 7

Xavier Simons - 7 (Palmer 81" - 6)

Regan Slater - 7

Gustavo Puerta - 6 (Bedia 89" - N/A)

Abdus Omur - 6.5

Mason Burstow - 6.5 (Longman 69" - 6)

Joao Pedro - 7

West Bromwich Albion

Alex Palmer - 6

Darnell Furlong - 8.5

Mason Holgate - 7

Torbjorn Heggem - 7

Callum Styles - 7

Jayson Molumby - 7

Alex Mowatt - 6 (Racic 64" - 6)

Tom Fellows - 6 (Dobbin 53" - 6)

Karlan Grant - 7.5 (Wallace 78" - 6)

Mikey Johnston - 7.5 (Diakite 78" - 6)

Josh Maja - 7.5 (Diangana 53" - 6)

Tim Walter reacts as Hull City's winless run goes on

Speaking post-match, Walter remained upbeat regarding his side's overall performance, despite the fact it is now no wins in seven and no clean sheets in 12 games for the Tigers.

"It's more about the performance (for me), but at the end you don't have the luck," Walter said. "We are conceding unlucky goals. It's more of a coincidence how the opposition are scoring."

"But, all you can do is work and fight against them, and that's what the boys did again today. They proved their character and tried to involve the fans."

The relationship between Walter, the team and the supporters given recent results has become a major talking point in these parts, but the 48-year-old was nothing-but complimentary to those in the home quarters of the MKM.

"They (the fans) were brilliant today. They tried to support us. It was really brilliant to see and hear them try to push us forward, and the boys appreciated their support," he stated.

"But, at the end it was like a repeat button. It's the same result and no points as Tuesday, but we don't have to talk about the performance (in a negative light)."

With two weeks until City face fellow underperformers Luton Town in Bedfordshire, the former Hamburg SV boss is convinced his side will eventually halt their recent slide, which has seen them enter the international break level on points with the relegation zone.

"It's more about how we're performing to get to the end result," he continued. "And, how we played with that character, given the inexperience compared to West Brom, then it makes me even more proud because I know they will do it (record wins).

"I'm so convinced that they want it, and that they can show they can beat teams like West Brom, and I know they will do it."

Carlos Corberan's verdict as West Brom return to winning ways

Corberan, who marked his 100th game in charge of the Baggies with the 2-1 success, referenced the overall mentality of his players as a key aspect behind the end result.

"If I give you the context (regarding a lack of preparation due to playing on Thursday) and the tactical and physical challenge, I can only value the effort and the commitment of the players," he said.

"When you are in a momentum of not winning games, you can become frustrated, you can give up, but in football and especially the Championship, you need to value everything that you do, even when you aren't achieving the results, and you can't give up because there isn't much of a difference between the teams."

Corberan then explained that there wasn't much difference between the two sides overall, which he believes is a running theme across the division.

"The level of other teams is as high as the level of Hull. For me, you can see that Hull have enough credit to have a similar amount of points as we have right now," he added.

"If you take the table, and you look from bottom to top, the level of teams this year. I have never seen this much equality (in terms of standards)."

"I can't tell you that Hull deserved to lose today, because they didn't. But, the mentality of my team meant we deserved the win. What I have seen today is every single game in the Championship this year."

The Albion boss then referenced his pride in leading the club through a century of encounters.

"I feel unbelievably proud to have led this club for 100 games. But, the most important thing for me is to make the fans proud to have me working with them and defending this club."

The attendance at Hull City 1-2 West Bromwich Albion

The attendance at the MKM Stadium was 20,538.

This included an estimated figure of approximately 1,500 Baggies supporters who made the two-and-a-half hour journey from the West Midlands.