Albion survive Molumby red

ON A night when the local forecast suggested snow and the Met Office issued a red alert for freezing, damaging winds, these Midlands rivals finally discovered how to turn up the thermostat. Sparked by the dismissal of Jayson Molumby (right) for two bookings, 10-man Albion stepped up the final quarter of a humdrum contest while Forest sensed a breakaway winner. Brennan Johnson almost delivered for the visitors with a fine solo run and shot which required an excellent save from Sam Johnstone. Albion, unbeaten at home with six wins and three draws, have been losing ground to Bournemouth and Fulham in recent weeks. The season has stuttered — one win in five games before this fixture — and there is growing pressure on Valerien Ismael, who is expected to deliver Premier League football. First job was to deliver a win against Forest, themselves going through an awkward run of draws but who are unbeaten away since Steve Cooper’s arrival. Forest were helped to an extent by Albion’s struggle to turn half-chances into goals. Grady Diangana came the closest to opening the scoring with a near-post effort which had Brice Samba scrambling while Darnell Furlong twice saw efforts fly off target. Forest’s attacks were limited, the best from Djed Spence which won a corner and nothing more. Since Cooper took over from the sacked Chris Hughton, the climb up the table has been steady. He will be hailed a hero if he delivers a play-off spot. Not good enough for his opposite number, who must have despaired when Jordan Hugill fired over in the dying seconds. Six months ago, Ismael was in charge of Barnsley when they played Swansea — where Cooper was manager. Small world.