Blackpool 1 West Brom 3 - report

As men in suits debate what he's worth in the future, Kevin Phillips showed again last night that right now he is priceless for Albion, writes Steve Madeley.

See also: Blackpool 1 West Brom 3 - in pictures

The master goalscorer turned a potentially costly game on its head at Bloomfield Road to take the Baggies from a real spot of bother to the top of the Championship in the space of two clinical minutes.

It wasn't quite a one-man show for Albion as they turned a 1-0 deficit into a remarkable 3-1 win in the final 10 minutes by the seaside and clocked up a century of goals for the season into the bargain.

But seeing Phillips step off the substitutes bench was like watching the cavalry appear over the hill as a previously blunt Albion side looked lethal from the second he entered the fray.

To the vital goals against Sheffield Wednesday, Crystal Palace and Charlton, Phillips can now add a potentially decisive brace against the Seasiders.

When his advisors next sit down with Albion to discuss his immediate future, they need only to present their client's record from the last month to put themselves in a position of strength.Since March 4 at Sheffield Wednesday alone, Phillips' goals have earned his side eight points, without which they would have woken up this morning fifth in the table, miles off the pace.

Instead they rose as leaders of the promotion race and confirmed favourites to reach the Premier League.

With each match-winning contribution the 34-year-old produced it becomes less a question of if the Baggies can afford to keep him; more a case of whether they can afford not to. Harry Redknapp had his tongue in his cheek last week when he joked about 'pinching' Phillips in the summer.

But if the two-year contract he wants is not forthcoming from The Hawthorns, plenty of Redknapp's peers will be deadly serious about their interest.

On current form they would be landing a bargain.

A nerveless penalty and a trademark 'poach' from Phillips last night turned no points into three before a partypiece from Ishmael Miller wrapped up a remarkable win that left both sets of fans scratching their heads.

Baggies supporters still pondering how they lost to Portsmouth at Wembley on Saturday left the Lancashire coast wondering the exact opposite.

Having failed to register a shot on target for 79 minutes,the Baggies somehow left as 3-1 victors and departed knowing they could have scored five or six in a crazy finale.

It was scrappy, unconvincing and at times bordered on ugly. But the 1,642 travelling fans cared little about the manner of the win. They knew it was the kind of result that wins promotions. And it took Tony Mowbray's side back to the summit of the table for the first time since February 9 and placed them in the box seats with five games to go.

For long spells it was disjointed and lacking cohesion, albeit with no shortage of application. But for six brilliant minutes with the end in sight Albion - Phillips and Miller in particular - tore their hosts apart with a ruthless edge that no other Championship side can match.

There was an early scare for the Baggies when Stephen Crainey looped a left-footed free-kick towards the far post and Michael Flynn got free of his marker to thunder a header goalwards it looked like the home side would strike the first blow. But Kiely got the faintest of touches to push it onto the bar and it dropped to safety.

A rare error from Neil Clement gave away possession in midfield and Flynn fed Stephen McPhee but he was forced wide by Martin Albrechtsen and missed the target.

Albion were just 10 minutes away from surviving a below-par first half unscathed when their hosts took the lead - predictably from a set-piece.

Paul Robinson fouled Gary Taylor-Fletcher on the right and Crainey swung the free-kick to the far post where Ben Burgess escaped substitute Leon Barnett to plant a header past Kiely and into the bottom corner.

McPhee burst into the box moments later but Clement did well to push him wide and he fired off target and when Albion failed to deal with another Crainey free-kick and it dropped to Kaspars Gorkss, whose shot was deflected past the far post.

So Albion knew the damage could have been worse by half-time and, although they improved after the break, it was still laboured for much of the second period.

Taylor-Fletcher tumbled on the corner of the penalty area under a challenge by Paul Robinson and he screamed for a penalty but referee Moss waved away the appeal. Ian Evatt got up above Miller to meet a corner by Wes Hoolahan but he headed onto the roof of the net and the Seasiders broke three-on-two. Burgess fed McPhee on the left but his cross found Taylor-Fletcher, who headed too close to Kiely.

By now, however, Phillips was into the action and his arrival from the bench must have given Blackpool manager Simon Grayson a sinking feeling having seen his side miss a host of chances.

Sure enough, Carl Hoefkens galloped down the right flank and was adjudged to have been fouled by Crainey in the box.

Up stepped Phillips to level from the penalty spot with the help of the woodwork.

Blackpool were still reeling from the shock of the spot kick when the previously flat Miller came to life and powered his way down the left and simply muscled his way past Crainey.

He fired a cross-shot towards the goal-mouth and Phillips' goalscoring instincts got him in the perfect spot.

The end-result was inevitable and suddenly, from nowhere, it was 2-1.

By now the home side were in shock and the floodgates were open. So when Robert Koren picked out Miller with a fantastic 40-yard pass and the big striker powered away from Crainey, it was time for a partypiece.

He cut between two defenders before whipping a brilliant left-footed shot into the top of the net. Blackpool could not comprehend what had hit them. Albion could barely believe it either.

But the match, and potentially the promotion race, had been transformed in the blink of an eye.

And Phillips had added another nought to his towering value.