Birmingham City 3 West Brom 1 - Report
Officiating controversy continued to plague English football as Albion sunk to an undeserved 3-1 defeat at Blues in part thanks to hugely contentious penalty decision.
Referee James Linington and his team made themselves the ire of the sold-out away end at St. Andrew's by awarding the hosts a first-half penalty for a Cedric Kipre challenge on Koji Miyoshi.
Juninho Bacuna buried the spot-kick to cancel out Albion's six-goal top scorer John Swift's fine opener before former Wolves youngster Dion Sanderson headed what proved a key goal before the interval. Substitute Gary Gardner curled in a free-kick in the closing stages after almost one-way traffic in Albion's favour in the second period.
But Carlos Corberan, his squad and Baggies fans will feel a huge sense of unjust through the fortnight's international break at the decision to penalise Kipre for a decision nobody - including the home faithful - saw coming.
Kipre slipped into a collision with the Japanese, involving two feet but minimal contact, before an instant decision to the surprise of everybody in the stadium.
Albion, for the most, played some fine football but lacked the desire cutting edge to secure the point they merited in the second period as the Championship season pauses for international action.
Corberan brought Grady Diangana back into the starting line-up after the winger had illness keep him out against Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday.
He replaced striker Brandon Thomas-Asante, who struggled against the Owls, with Jed Wallace resuming the centre-forward role he excelled in at Preston last weekend.
Diangana had previously impressed against Millwall and at Deepdale, in last weekend's 4-0 drubbing, having made a long-awaited recovery from ligament damage in his foot. Albion's 20-man squad was otherwise unchanged.
John Eustace named an unchanged line-up from the Blues' return to winning ways against Huddersfield in midweek. Blues were 4-1 winners over the Terriers having gone six games in all competitions without a win in a winless September.
Corberan had labelled the hosts' squad as one of the best in the Championship and felt Blues' storming win last time out was a result of a full quota of key players available.
It was a mood of celebration ahead of kick-offs as fireworks greeted the players to mark the test launch of some of the lower Tilton Stand.
But it was the visitors who sent a rocket to jolt City with another powerful start - this time scoring after just five minutes.
Very little looked on as Diangana rolled a short square pass from the right to the edge of the D outside Blues' box perfectly into the path of man of the moment Swift, who caressed a wonderful daisy-cutter right into the bottom corner beyond John Ruddy - so much so it kissed the inside of the post before rolling over the line.
Albion were good for their lead and rattled the visitors. Some of the early football was sharp with Blues looking rattled.
There was a let off as Jay Stansfield miscued a free header from a corner before Miyoshi lashed into the side netting from a narrow angle.
There was drama and real controversy around the corner.
An innocuous move ended in Kipre and Miyoshi coming together for a ball from Ivan Sunjic inside the penalty area, with Albion calling for a goal kick and expecting a corner at worst.
Referee Linington, though, had other ideas and pointed at the penalty spot - to the complete and utter shock of everyone, of both persuasions, in St. Andrew's. Replays showed Albion's Ivorian go for the ball with two feet, he won the ball, there was perhaps contact, but the decision looked scandalous from the visitors' point-of-view.
Bacuna made no mistake from 12 yards, sending Alex Palmer the wrong way.
The Baggies looked to re-group. Alex Mowatt headed down and at Ruddy but quite clearly the decision had changed things.
But Linington's failings were no explanation for Blues' second seven minutes before the interval.
A short corner was only half-cleared before Cody Drameh's fine cross from deep evaded Albion's high line and found former Wolves man Sanderson, born in Wednesfield, who was alone to head high into the corner over Palmer.
Corberan introduced Conor Townsend for Erik Pieters at the interval and switched his side to a back four. Another coming together, this time Kipre and the lively Siriki Dembele in the early stages of the second, was this time ignored by Linington.
Albion continued to play some silky football at times, with some eye-catching one-touch play.
They should have grabbed a deserved equaliser through Darnell Furlong, who had played well, but the right-back somehow steered a chance wide across goal from Matt Phillips' cross.
The Baggies were well on top into the final 20 minutes but Furlong could only head Mowatt's cross at Ruddy. Albion then lost Swift to a knock as Corberan turned to academy graduate Tom Fellows, through very few options.
Fellows impressed, Albion kept going but sub Gardner bent in a free-kick with three minutes to go to seal a cruel result that will lead to more refereeing debate.
Teams
Blues (4-2-3-1): Ruddy; Drameh, Sanderson (c), Long, Longelo; Sunjic, Bielik; Miyoshi (Burke, 69), Stansfield (Hogan, 82), Bacuna (Gardner, 82); Dembele (Jutkiewicz, 72).
Subs not used: Etheridge, M Roberts, Aiwu, James, Khela.
Albion (3-4-3): Palmer; Kipre, Bartley, Pieters (Townsend, 45); Furlong (Pipa, 81), Yokuslu (Chalobah, 64), Mowatt, Phillips; Diangana, Wallace (c) (Thomas-Asante, 64), Swift (Fellows, 74).
Subs not used: Griffiths, Ajayi, Taylor, Molumby.
Attendance: 21,495 (1,978 Albion fans)
Referee: James Linington
