West Brom 1 Derby County 3: Baggies continue to unravel with Easter misery
Albion's end-of-season collapse continued with a fifth defeat in six after Easter misery at home to relegation-battling Derby.
Tony Mowbray's misfiring Baggies' meek limp towards the summer has seen them slump to 10th in the Championship. Remarkably the gap to sixth - so recently a hopeful target - is still six points with two games left as rivals lost, but the hope is very much .
Out-of-sorts Albion barely managed to improve on Good Friday's shocker at Coventry. They conceded from a corner twice in the first half, with Ebou Adams and Jerry Yates on target, as the hosts showed some pitiful defending - not for the first time in the last month or two.
Substitute Adam Armstrong, one of four changes on the hour, pulled one back midway through the second period but the hosts could not muster any more as fans emptied The Hawthorns in their droves. It was far from full before kick-off with hope drained and apathy taken hold.
Rams sub Nathaniel Landez-Laing made it 3-1 in his first action in the final minutes to condemn Albion, who were jeered off loudly by those few still left at the bitter end.
A record now reads one win in eight for Mowbray's side as things continue to quickly unravel for the head coach, who returned in January, with supporters left irate with a drastic collapse of form.
Monday's first half in particular was an insipid display of little apparent effort from those in blue and white stripes. They could not find a colleague with a pass, control the ball or manage basic defending from set-pieces. Mowbray could only watch on hands on head. John Eustace's side only remain clear of the drop on goal difference after their win.
Mason Holgate came in for the suspended Callum Styles with Torbjorn Heggem shuffled to left-back. Ousmane Diakite replaced Alex Mowatt and Grady Diangana came in for Karlan Grant from Friday's no-show.
Hundreds of empty seats around The Hawthorns told the gloomy story to match the pre-game conditions with fans understandably having made up their mind after Good Friday's despair.
