James Morrison's third goal in five games saw Albion beat local rivals Stoke at The Hawthorns to continue their impressive run of form.
Morrison struck inside six minutes on the day Saido Berahino was given a hostile welcome on his return to the club.
Here's what the press had to say. Click on the link to read the full report.
James Morrison’s early goal was enough to settle a bruising contest marred by trouble in the crowd following the final whistle.
Morrison struck in the sixth minute for the second time in four days to ensure Albion left with the bragging rights in a fixture that feels more a more like a local derby.
There was certainly a derby feel on the pitch and off with it, with stewards having to intervene as rival fans tried to scuffle in the stands at full time.
The Baggies had the ball in the net as early as the fourth minute but Salomon Rondon was correctly ruled out for offside after Matt Phillips's shot deflected into his path.
Two minutes later though, Morrison scored in the sixth minute for the second successive game, capping off a fine sweeping move up the pitch with a first-time finish over Lee Grant's leg following Nacer Chadli's inch-perfect pass.
Although Stoke rarely threatened Ben Foster's goal, and Saido Berahino's return was a damp squib, the Baggies failed to find the all-important second goal on a heated afternoon.
The row between Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion over the hushing up of Saido Berahino’s drugs ban turned personal on Saturday night as Stoke manager Mark Hughes accused Albion’s Tony Pulis of giving him the cold shoulder before and after Albion’s 1-0 win over their Midlands rivals at The Hawthorns.
Hughes further accused Albion of failing to disclose the controversial striker’s eight-week suspension as they negotiated the £12 million sale of Berahino to Stoke last month, contrary to Pulis’s claim that his club “has been open and honest in everything we have done with Saido.”
The Stoke manager was also upset that news of Berahino’s suspension, imposed by the Football Association following a failed test for a Class A drug believed to have been undergone last September, did not emerge until Thursday of last week, on the eve of Berahino’s return to The Hawthorns in a Stoke shirt.
When the familiar figure appeared on the touchline, the noise became immense. Saido Berahino knew what to expect on his return to the Hawthorns but level of animosity might still have caused a shock.
There had been boos as Berahino engaged in shooting practice before the game in front of the Smethwick End, jeers when he emerged to warm-up during the first half, and a persistent number of chants decrying the worst possible insults from kick-off.
But as he hugged Peter Crouch in the 58th minute to step onto a pitch he knows well, the sound of derision – no doubt heightened by this newspaper's revelation of drugs ban earlier this season – seemed the loudest this stadium has heard.
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