Diangana and O'Shea down Derby and put West Brom back on top
West Brom turned up the pressure on
Leeds as they returned to the top of the Championship and moved a step closer to a Premier League return. Grady Diangana and Dara O’Shea struck to see off
Derby and put Slaven Bilic’s side two points clear at the top, having played a game more, and five points ahead of third-placed Brentford.
Defeat damages Derby’s play-off hopes as they dropped to eighth and also had Louie Sibley was sent off in injury time. Leeds host Stoke on Thursday
knowing victory will reclaim the lead but Bilic should be satisfied with
a professional job done with only four games left.
The result means they now need eight points from four games to secure promotion. “I’m so proud of them,” said Bilic. “Everyone did their job.”
Both sides began positively with O’Shea blocking from Duane Holmes and Kamil Grosicki shooting over. But it was West Brom who struck first to underline their promotion credentials in the 11th minute. Grosicki’s cute through ball found Diangana and the West Ham loanee beat the offside trap to round Ben Hamer and roll in from a tight angle.
West Brom’s Matheus Pereira dragged wide soon after and Graeme Shinnie shot over as the visitors tried to find a foothold. Yet West Brom had raised their game and comfortably kept Derby at bay.
With Pereira and Diangana they also had the game’s most influential players; the pair, at times, toyed with Derby in the first half. George Evans blocked a low Pereira effort after the forward danced into the area eight minutes before the break.
West Brom continued to press only for Grosicki to shoot wastefully over and Hamer was forced into a smart low save when he turned Charlie Austin’s volley wide in first-half stoppage time.
Wayne Rooney’s impact had been minimal but Pereira was growing in stature and Hamer saved his low drive four minutes after the restart. Diangana hobbled off soon after, being replaced by Callum Robinson, but the robust hosts did not break stride.
Although Sibley slashed wide Derby remained limited and, after Hamer denied Pereira, West Brom doubled their lead 14 minutes from time. Derby conceded a needless corner and O’Shea lost his marker to head in Pereira’s nearpost delivery.
Derby’s misery was then compounded in stoppage time when Sibley saw red for an innocuous kick on O’Shea.