Saido Berahino struck a 77th-minute winner as West Bromwich Albion beat Hull City 1-0 in Tony Pulis's first Premier League game in charge of the Baggies.
Both sides had previously cancelled each other out in an otherwise drab affair at The Hawthorns.
However, the decisive moment came 13 minutes from time when a breakdown in communication saw Allan McGregor pick up Ahmed Elmohamady's pass, and Berahino made them pay from the resulting indirect free kick.
Here, Sports Mole analyses how the match was won in the West Midlands.
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Match statistics
WEST BROMWICH ALBION
Shots: 8
On target: 3
Possession: 52%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 12
HULL CITY
Shots: 9
On target: 2
Possession: 48%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 5
Was the result fair?
Just about, yes. The above statistics do not paint an accurate picture of what went on at The Hawthorns this afternoon. Hull, despite boasting plenty of possession, failed to fashion a single goalscoring opportunity throughout the 90 minutes and, despite defending relatively well, did not deserve anything from their trip to the West Midlands.
West Bromwich Albion's performance
West Brom were second best in the first half as far as possession goes, but the hosts looked by far the more dangerous of the two sides throughout, and would have snatched a half-time lead had Berahino and Brown Ideye taken their opportunities - with the latter particularly culpable after missing a gilt-edged chance.
Nevertheless, they continued on in the same vein after the break against a stubborn Hull defence, who allowed their hosts little to no clear-cut opportunities. It was not until 77 minutes when Pulis's side crowbarred the game open, with Berahino punishing McGregor and Elmohamady by thrashing home an indirect free kick.
It was far from pretty, but West Brom will not care too much. Victory represents the first step on the road to recovery and the well-documented Pulis effect looks to be in full swing already.
Hull City's performance
Hull dominated the opening half an hour or so in terms of possession, but Albion's rigid back-four meant that the visitors could do very little with the ball, with Nikica Jelavic and Abel Hernandez - both of whom went off injured in seperate incidents before the break - largely anonymous as the focal points throughout their spells on the field.
Without a recognised striker on the bench, Steve Bruce had to improvise and deployed Thomas Ince up front to supplement the loss of Jelavic and Hernandez, but Ince proved not much of an outlet in that role.
Did things improve in the second half? No. In fact, Hull grew far less effective in the final third and were forced into defending for large spells, which they did well for the most part, but a mix-up between Elmohamady and McGregor ultimately undermined their bid for what would have been a hard-fought point.
It was a woeful second-half performance on the whole, and Bruce can feel unlucky to have lost both of his primary goal threats to injury in one half, but the incidents underlined the importance of bringing in another striker during the winter transfer window. It could prove the difference between relegation and survival for the Tigers, who find themselves out of the danger zone on goal difference alone.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Saido Berahino: The 21-year-old probably deserves the nod - not only for his goal, but the match-winner was at the heart of everything that the Baggies created today. He fluffed his lines with a half-chance early on, but he constantly menaced throughout the 90 minutes and his goal was a reward for his solid all-round performance.
Biggest gaffe
It has to be McGregor, who picked up Elmohamady's pass before being penalised with the indirect free kick that ultimately led to their downfall. It is difficult to judge whether it was Elmohamady's fault for passing it, or McGregor's for picking it up, but the Scot arguably deserves a bigger slice of the blame for not clearing his lines, much to Hull's cost.
Referee performance
Neil Swarbrick enjoyed a relatively quiet day at the office. He booked just one player in the whole game - Claudio Yacob on 35 minutes - and found himself with little to no contentious decisions to make.
What next?
West Bromwich Albion: Pulis's boys have the luxury of a nine-day rest now as they're back in action with a trip to Everton next Monday.
Hull City: Hull, meanwhile, will now gear up for a visit to West Ham United next Sunday afternoon.
Shane Callaghan
