West Bromwich Albion 1 - Aston Villa 0

Mark Koppel:

As a Birmingham based West Brom fan any win against Villa ,and their arrogant fans, is very welcome indeed.

But we were let off the hook by the sending off and then my goodness didn't we make really hard work of it against a poor Villa Team? Unfortunately it has also put off the inevitable sacking of Alan Irvine for a while.

Irvine started again without Berahino which was a mistake proven by the inept performance of Brown Ideye and the fact Saido changed the game when he came on. I'm sorry but I cannot see us winning any of the next 2/3 games based on today's performance.

Player ratings:

• Foster 5 - Not too much to do but then started to panic in the last 20 mins. Kicked the ball out of play twice in this period, gave one straight to Delph, then fumbled his shot, finally being saved by Benteke being offside.
• Norman Wisdom 7 - Easily his best game for West Brom today. Yes he wasn't under the same pressure when they went down to 10 men but showed great pace against Agbonlahor and was quite effective with his own crosses today.
• McAuley 8 - Immense performance again. Was very strong all day long against Benteke and did all the basics to perfection.
• Lescott 7 - Gave the ball away a couple of times but overall solid and a much better Captain than Brunt.
• Poco 6 - Better today as he was allowed to go forward. Hope he continues to do this when also playing against 11.
• Varela 7 - Great to see him take on Alan Hutton. Playing a winger gave us many more options even before the sending off. He has obviously been fit for a while so again why wasn't he used before today?
• Morrison 7 - Most attacking moves came through him, especially in the first half. If he can get further up the pitch then he could be even more effective.
• Sess 4 - Did try to run at Villa a few times but never with any end product.
• Gardner 7 - I will give him 7 for his goal and for conducting a chorus of 'Shit On The Villa' at the Brummie Road End.
• Dorrans 5 - Cannot remember him doing anything effective. Can remember a shot in the first half that nearly hit the corner flag.
• £10 Million Flop 3 - Still looks like a flop after today. Not sure what he got in his locker. He is weak on the ball, he is not fast, his runs off the ball were awful, his shot in the second half has only just landed, and he cannot head a football.

Subs -

• Berahino 8 - Was the most effective player on the pitch today despite only given 20 mins. Ridiculous decision not to start with him again but within only 2 mins of coming on put in a fantastic cross that led to the goal. Some might say he was greedy holding on to the ball at the end but remember Cardiff last season and also Brown 'No' Ideye gave him no alternative passing optoons.

Brendan Clegg:

The result was more important than the performance and we got it. Irvine breathes again.

I don't think we were great value. I also don't think the sending off changed the game massively.

Positives - Varela showing us what a real winger can offer (please keep Brunt out of the team), Sess in patches, Morrison and the whole back four to whom I think we owe the last 4 points.

Honestly - Lescott must be the signing of the season for any club. International class- you don't realise how good he is until you watch him week in week out. And G-Mac was heroic beside him again. I genuinely believe this pair would improve Arsenal, Liverpool and Man Utd. most sides in the league.

Poc staying fit is a bonus - he's solid and Wisdom was excellent today defensively - kept Agbonlahor quiet and matched him for pace a few times. He also kept bombing on second half and giving us an option even if the quality wasn't there in the final ball.

I was disappointed with Dorrans (whom I'm a fan of in the centre for his ball retention normally) and Gardner (despite the goal and whom I also admire for his work ethic) - neither were good enough when we had the extra man and we struggled as a result. They hid a bit - didn't show enough for the ball. Morrison did most of that on his own.

And Brown looked some way off - the service wasn't great but his touch looked poor and his movement quite basic. A goal can change that, as can serious minutes. It was good for him to get 90 mins but the jury is still out and I'd have hooked him after our goal, moved Berahino to the centre and got Mulumbu in the middle to keep the ball and sure things up.

We didn't keep the ball well enough or create enough real chances given they were down to 10 and there were a couple of scares near the end. The tempo and pressing could have been higher and braver.

But a result and another clean sheet - need to follow those up next week now. Defeat there would be a disaster for us.

• Foster - 7 Not a lot to do but solid enough. kicking remains suspect but some good throws to start breaks today.
• Wisdom - 7 Big performance, some strong headers on the back post and showed strength, pace and willing.
• McAuley - 8 immense and had he played 10 more games this season I reckon we'd be 5 points better off.
• Lescott - 8 Another towering performance. should still be in the England squad.
• Poco - 7 Looking like a great buy if he stays fit. Some solid challenges and good support play.
• Mozza - 7 Pick of our midfield trio. Pacey, kept the ball well and tried to link play.
• Dozza - 5 Didn't really happen for him. too often he didn't offer himself for the ball.
• Gardner - 6 Extra mark for the goal but same as Dozza really. Both did plenty of running but struggled.
• Varela - 7 first 35 minutes he had Hutton on toast. Couldn't keep it up but will benefit from the 90 and can beat a man, keep the ball, cross and shoot.
• Sess - 7 Kept going, probing and showing bravery to take them on and make things happen even if it didnt always come off.
• Ideye - 5 Not strong enough, didn't hold it well enough and first touch was poor. But he did run about a bit and kept making runs in behind.
• Berahino - 6 Gave us something different and could perhaps have been brought on through the middle sooner.

Talyllyn Baggie:

In previous years a victory at home against the Villa would be greeted with euphoria but it was more of a relief that we scraped a 1-0 win. To be fair, I thought Villa showed a grit and determination to try & go for a draw, even with 10 men. I was very impressed with Benteke's first touch under pressure & on another day he may have gone away with a brace.

I was also impressed with the centre back Okore, who worked hard to keep Ideye quiet. This guy needs game time to impress & on another day he may have buried his main chance.

It is always difficult to assess a performance in a local derby, but I do wish we were faster on the counter attack and a bit less 'after you Claude' in front of goal.

However, we won. I still need to be convinced to renew our season tickets next year.