Baggiestrouncevillato stay in promotion hunt
West Brom boss Darren Moore acknowledged the contributions of veteran Gareth Barry and youngster Rekeem Harper in the win at Aston Villa.
Promotion-chasing Albion clinched their victory with two goals in four minutes just before half-time, which sent Villa spinning to a home defeat that may have ended their hopes of making the play-offs.
The two goals came from strikers Hal Robson-kanu and Jay Rodriguez, who recorded his 17th goal of the season and Moore said: “Getting three points on the road in this division is always rewarding.
“The hard work and commitment by the players was excellent and they deserved their victory.
“I was aware it was an important game and that we had to be at our best to come away with a result.
“Gareth Barry brings a calmness and composure. He is not overawed by anything.
“His positional sense off the ball is excellent and you have to remember he is approaching 38 – it was an exceptional performance.
“On the other hand, Rekeem Harper is a young player who is developing all the time. He has come through the academy and he is going to be a top player for us.
“He shows he has the ability to cope with this level and he can be really proud after this game.
“To score two goals at Villa is no mean feat, while to keep a clean sheet… there are not many teams who will achieve this at Villa Park.”
Villa boss Dean Smith said: “There was nothing in the game after we started brightly. If Tammy had taken his chance it would have been a totally different game.
“But we did not have enough quality to put enough balls into the box to score. I thought we became very frustrated.
“There were not many chances throughout the game, but our quality in the final third is lacking. Obviously I am disappointed with the result.
“Albion showed no ambition. They got behind the ball and tried to make it difficult for us, which they did.
“We put on Jonathan Kodjia for the last 25 minutes. We needed to get in some quality crosses and we didn’t do that as they defended their box.”
Smith denied that the long absence of midfielder Jack Grealish is the reason for their recent run of indifferent results.
He said: “We have had to manage without several class players this season, when we have had some good results.”