West Brom 3, Sheffield United 1: Full Time Report
West Brom proved their promotion credentials with a convincing victory over fellow high-flyers Sheffield United that put them back within touching distance of the top two in the Coca-Cola Championship.
It was a commanding performance from Albion, who had collected just four points from their previous 12 at The Hawthorns.
The hosts quickly grew in confidence having breached a Blades defence that had not conceded in five-and-a-half hours of league football.
However, the Yorkshire side could count themselves extremely unfortunate at the nature of Albion's 18th-minute opener when Nick Montgomery was punished for an innocuous handball.
The talismanic Graham Dorrans, who was the heartbeat of West Brom's midfield, slotted home the resulting penalty before Roman Bednar netted his third goal in five games to cap a professional first-half display.
Darius Henderson levelled matters from the spot himself within minutes of the restart, but Jerome Thomas extinguished any hope of a fightback when he restored Albion's two-goal advantage within a minute.
The Baggies went into the clash having lost just two of their last 15, although having been leapfrogged into second place by Nottingham Forest, while United themselves had only been beaten twice in their last 14.
And both sides looked bright in the opening stages with Thomas and Richard Cresswell seeing efforts well blocked at either end.
Yet it was livewire Dorrans, recently linked with a host of top-flight clubs until penning a new deal this month, who was proving a constant threat.
And it was he who created the opener when, under pressure from Montgomery, referee Mick Russell harshly adjudged the United midfielder to have handled the ball.
The decision was extremely tough on the visitors but Dorrans stepped up to slot home the resulting spot-kick.
