Daryl Dike inspired West Brom as they hit back to beat Sunderland 2-1 in the Sky Bet Championship on Monday night.
Amad Diallo had scored from the penalty spot to put the Black Cats in front at the Stadium of Light, but the Baggies hit back in the second half with goals from substitutes Tom Rogic and Dike – who teed up his team-mate for the equaliser before heading in the winner with seven minutes to go.
It was a fourth victory in a row for West Brom under Carlos Corberan, and it lifted them back out of the relegation zone and up to 17th.
Sunderland, meanwhile, missed the opportunity to rise to seventh. They remain 11th in the table.
Corberan changes inspire West Brom comeback
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Tom Rogic came off the bench and scored with a fabulous finessed shot from the edge of the box to equalise for West Brom against Sunderland
It was Diallo who opened the scoring in their victory over Millwall last week on their return to Championship action, and it was the Manchester United loanee who broke the deadlock again in the 19th minute on Monday night.
He burst in from the right and drew a clumsy foul from Conor Townsend in the box, before stepping up to send Alex Palmer the wrong way. It was Sunderland’s first set-piece goal of the season, with their previous 29 all coming from open play.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Amad Diallo continued his fine form for Sunderland by opening the scoring from the penalty spot against West Brom
Corberan made changes in the second half to try and get his side back into the game, and two of his changes combined to find the equaliser on 70 minutes, as Dike pulled a ball back for Rogic on the edge of the box, who finished brilliantly low into the bottom corner.
And the turnaround was complete on 83 minutes as Dike – much like Rogic – got his first goal for the club, as he powered a header in from close range after being picked out brilliantly in the box by Jed Wallace.
What the managers said…
Sunderland’s Tony Mowbray: “It’s frustrating. It’s not the first time it’s happened. It’s experience and the mentality of the team really to not try and protect what you’ve got, but be more positive on the front foot.
“Ultimately we sunk too deep in trying to protect our lead. We had an amazing chance to go 2-0 up through Alex Pritchard and that’s how we need to play. We need to be more aggressive and keep the fans engaged. A frustrating night for us, and it’s disappointing not to get anything out of it.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
West Brom manager Carlos Corberan claims it took his side a while to adapt to the speed of the game after a month without a game due to the World Cup but says they ended up being the better side in the 2-1 win over Sunderland.
West Brom’s Carlos Corberan: “Of course the result is very positive. The team played with a lot of effort and it showed our mentality. After they scored the goal we started to control the game, because before that they were better than us. In the second half we were better than them, and it allowed us to get the result.
“[Dike] has been suffering a lot with injury, but when we have all our players available we are a stronger team. We have moments where his physical possibilities in the box can help us a lot.”
Player of the match – Jed Wallace
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Substitute Daryl Dike completes West Brom’s comeback against Sunderland with a brilliant header to give the visitors a 2-1 lead
Lee Hendrie on Sky Sports Football:
“Jed Wallace was absolutely brilliant for West Brom, even in the first half he showed his quality with his delivery. The cross from open play for Dike proved to be the winner.”
What’s next?
Both sides are back in action at 3pm on Saturday. Sunderland head to Hull City, while West Brom host Rotherham – live on Sky Sports Football Red Button and the Sky Sports app.
