Express & Star

Dara O'Shea hoping to see West Brom's Grady Diangana flourish after winner

Dara O'Shea hopes Grady Diangana can take confidence moving forward as Albion's goal hero against Coventry.

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Winger Diangana netted a 15th-minute winner against the Sky Blues last time out as Carlos Corberan's side returned to winning ways.

It was a fourth goal of the season, and first since December 17, for Diangana. The flyer has been in and out of Corberan's starting plans since the Spaniard's October appointment, as the head coach favoured Jed Wallace and Matt Phillips, but Phillips' lengthy injury setback has opened the door.

O'Shea, who has been the Baggies' regular skipper this term standing in for Jake Livermore, said the winner was reward for his colleague's 'unnoticed work'.

"I'm really happy for Grady," O'Shea said.

"He's been working hard and maybe things haven't been coming off for him.

"To get that goal for his today is big reward for him, he's been working really hard for us and it might have gone unnoticed with some people, but we see it day in, day out.

"Hopefully he can take a lot of confidence from it."

Diangana was one of Albion's standout performers in the early part of the season amid struggles under Steve Bruce.

But the former West Ham wideman lost his place as a regular as the season progressed and was used more sparingly in the early weeks and months of Corberan's tenure.

The 24-year-old won praise for his performance in general against the Sky Blues as fans acknowledged his hard work out of possession on the left of Corberan's attacking trio.

The Albion head coach said: "More than the goal I have to evaluate the performance and for me he had a very good game."

Corberan bolstered his options out wide on deadline day as the experienced Marc Albrighton checked in on loan from Leicester.

Albrighton started his debut on the right, with Diangana opposite on the left and Jed Wallace – one of the Baggies' star men this term generally from the right flank – operated in a central role.