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Player Ratings: West Bromwich Albion 1-0 Hull City

Sports Mole analyses how the players fared in West Bromwich Albion's 1-0 win over Hull City in Tony Pulis's first Premier League game in charge of the Baggies.

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 rates and slates the players who were on show in the West Midlands.

Jake Livermore of Hull City evades Claudio Yacob of West Bromwich Albion during the Barclays Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Hull City at The Hawthorns on January 10, 2015© Getty Images



WEST BROMWICH ALBION

Goal

Ben Foster: Barely had a save to make in the entire 90 minutes, but did well to comfortably take a couple of dangerous crosses from Quinn and Brady. (6/10)

Defence

Andre Wisdom: Struggled with Quinn down the left flank at times, allowing the Irishman to get one too many crosses in, but looked solid enough on the whole. (5/10)

Gareth McAuley: Would have been happy to see the back of Hernandez, who tormented him with his pace once or twice. Looked good from that point on and might have scored. (6/10)

Joleon Lescott: Looked very good in the air and marshalled his defensive line well throughout. Made Jelavic look like a mere spectator by virtue of his man-marking on the Croatian prior to his departure through injury. (6/10)

Chris Baird: Did not look out of place in a relatively unfamiliar left-back role and kept Elmohamady fairly quiet in Hull's attacking third. (6/10)

Midfield

Claudio Yacob: Sat in front of the defence well and made sure that Hull's attackers knew their place with a couple of tough challenges, one of which he was booked for. (6/10)

James Morrison: One of only a few West Brom players to show a bit of urgency when the game was at 0-0 and can take lots of heart from his own performance in the win. (7/10)

Chris Brunt: Guilty of wasting a host of set-piece chances with some poor deliveries. (5/10)

Stephane Sessegnon: Nowhere near his electric best, though did still produce one or two good moments and might have had an assist if Berahino could have scored in the first half. (5/10)

Attack

Brown Ideye: Missed the game's best chance in a moment that seemed to sum up his West Brom career, but responded well enough and continued to link up well with Berahino. Should have scored, but it did not affect him as much as it might have. (5/10)

Saido Berahino: Netted the only goal of the game but always looked a constant threat in possession, and his goal was just desserts for a performance that might have added a couple of million to his reported £20m valuation. (7/10)

Substitutes

Victor Anichebe: Replaced Ideye and looked no less of an outlet up front. (6/10)

Craig Gardner: Showed plenty of nous to hang on to possession rather than aimlessly crossing in moments where West Brom were edging toward victory. Good cameo. (6/10)



HULL CITY

Goal

Allan McGregor: Deserves most of the blame for the mix-up that led to the winning goal. Made a couple of saves prior to that to deny Berahino. (4/10)

Defence

James Chester: Started at right-back and never allowed Sessegnon or Brunt - who switched wings after the break - to have a positive impact on proceedings. (6/10)

Alex Bruce: Hull's best defender on the day, but did find himself flat-footed when Ideye went through midway through the first half. (7/10)

Curtis Davies: Made a couple of errors, but compensated well by throwing himself in the way to make what seemed to be crucial blocks at the time. (6/10)

Maynor Figueroa: Slightly overzealous going forward on what was his first Premier League start of the season, but looked okay defensively. (6/10)

Midfield

Ahmed Elmohamady: Played a part in gifting West Brom the opening goal, though far less culpable than his goalkeeper McGregor. (5/10)

Jake Livermore: Shielded his defence well at times but could, and should, have done better with a few long-range efforts in the second half. (5/10)

David Meyler: Retreated to defensive midfield alongside Livermore once Jelavic and Hernandez went off, and looked more comfortable there than in his initial advanced role. (6/10)

Stephen Quinn: The Irishman is regularly one of Hull's better players when he plays, and today was no different. He fizzed in some fine deliveries throughout his spell on the field, but nobody was on hand to convert his crosses. (7/10)

Attack

Abel Hernandez: More involved than Jelavic on the day and beat McAuley for pace on a few occasions, but was not on the field for long enough to have much of an impact. (5/10)

Nikica Jelavic: Also a first-half casualty, Jelavic was far less involved than his strike partner and, barring one tame header at goal, was never really allowed to contribute by virtue of West Brom's defence. (4/10)

Substitutes

Robbie Brady: Hull would have been banking on his delivery from set pieces to give them a few chances, but he left his left foot back in Hull. (5/10)

Thomas Ince: Unsurprisingly looked out of his depth in an unfamiliar forward's role and barely saw the ball. Cannot be judged on this display. (4/10)


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Jake Livermore of Hull City evades Claudio Yacob of West Bromwich Albion during the Barclays Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Hull City at The Hawthorns on January 10, 2015
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