West Brom boss Carlos Corberan says the goalmouth scramble at the start of the second half was the 'key moment' that cost his side against play-off rivals Sunderland. The Black Cats came from behind to win 2-1 at The Hawthorns yesterday, with Tony Mowbray's side leapfrogging their opponents and moving into the top six with just two games of their season remaining.
West Brom had taken the lead against the run of play on the stroke of half-time when Luke O'Nien was penalised for a foul on John Swift, and the midfielder stepped up to convert from the penalty spot. And the home side could have doubled their advantage just three minutes into the second period when they peppered the Sunderland goal, with Jayson Molumby, Karlan Grant, Conor Townsend - twice - and Darnell Furlong, all seeing shots blocked within a crazy 15-second spell.
The Black Cats threw bodies in the way and survived, and five minutes later they got back on terms through Dennis Cirkin, with the defender then scoring again to win the game five minutes from time. But it was that scramble that Corberan identified as the crucial moment.
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"We arrive at half time winning, and in the second half for me we competed much better than them, and we end up losing the game," said the Spaniard. "Because in football what happens in the boxes makes the difference, and the game has been won by the team that were more clinical in the box.
"We have different styles, they are a team very comfortable with the ball. I think we created more chances but we weren't clinical.
"We had a big chance in the second half before they score their first goal that was a key moment in the game, we have three or four chances to score. Not many minutes later, they use our excessive aggressiveness to try and defend in our half to score the goal [Cirkin's equaliser] that makes a big difference.
"I didn't see my team giving up. We recovered the ball a lot close to their box in the second [half] that we didn't use well enough.
"I don't remember any big chances for them in the second half other than the goals they scored, but it's true that in the first half you have to give them a lot of credit because they were very comfortable [on the ball]. We had the right spirit but there were some aspects that they managed better than us and that is why they won the game."
Sunderland's play-off quest continues on Saturday when out-of-form Watford visit the Stadium of Light. West Brom slipped to ninth place following yesterday's game but they have a game in hand over the Black Cats and can overtake them if they win at second-placed Sheffield United tomorrow night.
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