West Bromwich Albion 2 - 0 SwanseaWest Bromich Albion: Brown Ideye 60, Saido Berahino 74
The Qatari transfer window closes next Wednesday but it is safe to say that Brown Ideye will not be getting on a plane to the Middle East anytime soon.After pulling the plug on the Nigerian’s £3.8m deal to join Al Gharafa on deadline day here, after their attempts to sign Carlton Cole collapsed at the 11th hour, West Bromwich Albion have been rewarded with two goals in as many games from the club-record signing who was previously a figure of ridicule.
It is some turnaround for Ideye, who followed up his equaliser at Burnley on Sunday with the opening goal of the night against a desperately disappointing Swansea side.
Albion grew in confidence from that moment on and went on to secure a crucial three points, to lift them to 14th in the table, when Ideye rounded off an impressive performance by setting up Saido Berahino for his 15th goal of the season.
Tony Pulis, the Albion head coach, must be starting to think it was a blessing that Cole was forced to return to east London. As for Swansea, it was hard to take any positives from a subdued display that smacked of a team enjoying the comfort of mid-table. There is still some way to go but Albion are heading in that direction.
There was little to choose between the teams in an uninspiring opening 45 minutes that had Pulis hopping up and down on the touchline, fiercely contesting throw-ins and making no attempt to conceal his dismay when Chris Brunt, a makeshift left-back, horribly sliced a cross behind from a promising position just before the interval.
Pulis turned on his heel and slumped on a cool box in front of the dugout while Dave Kemp, his assistant, held his head in his hands.
It was that sort of half and, in that instance, laid bare Pulis’s case for a new left-back in the January transfer window.
Albion did, however, come closest to taking the lead in that period. James Morrison’s in-swinging corner from the Albion left was met at the near post by Craig Dawson, whose glancing header forced Lukasz Fabianski into an instinctive save. Ideye was unable to turn home the loose ball in the scramble that followed.
Moments later the recent signing, Callum McManaman, fizzed an angled drive over the crossbar.
Swansea started to look more dangerous as the half went on, with Jefferson Montero enjoying the chance to run at Dawson, playing as another stand-in full-back rather than in his more usual central defensive role.
The Swansea left-winger bamboozled him on a couple of occasions, with one raid down the flank culminating in Bafétimbi Gomis, under pressure, shooting wide.
Jonjo Shelvey also tried and failed to beat Ben Foster with a curling shot and Gomis, shortly before half-time, volleyed straight at the Albion goalkeeper.
The goal Albion supporters craved arrived on the hour mark. Stephane
Sessègnon, who had replaced the injured McManaman two minutes earlier, darted infield and released Saido Berahino in the inside left channel.
Berahino moved the ball onto Ideye and although Ashley Williams managed to partially block the striker’s first attempt, the ball broke kindly to him to try again.
Wrapping his foot around the ball, Ideye drilled a low shot beyond Fabianski and into the far corner.
Garry Monk introduced Nelson Oliveira and Wayne Routledge to try and give Swansea some much-needed fresh impetus but Berahino’s goal put the game beyond the visitors.
Montero lost possession midway inside his own half and Berahino, after exchanging passes with Ideye on the edge of the Swansea area, swept a splendid first-time shot inside Fabianski’s near post.
Source: Guardian
