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West Bromwich 3-1 Birmingham:Odemwingie,Olsson,Jerome scored
West Bromwich Albion came from behind to down Birmingham 3-1 in the West Midlands derby at The Hawthorns.
Cameron Jerome gave the visitors a first half lead when he converted Scott Dann's header back across goal on 15 minutes.
But the hosts levelled when Dann turned the ball into his own net under pressure from Peter Odemwingie six minutes after the restart.
Lee Bowyer's mistake gave Odemwingie the chance to slot home a second and Jonas Olsson's header on 69 minutes made sure there was no way back for the Blues.
Alex McLeish made just one change to the side that drew with Liverpool as Alexander Hleb replaced the injured James McFadden, while Baggies boss Roberto Di Matteo had the luxury of naming an unchanged side.
The first of 12 west Midlands derbies got off to a cagey start with neither side able to make inroads. Chris Brunt's low cross into the Birmingham box after 10 minutes provided the first real sniff of danger, before Odemwingie's turn and shot was gathered by Ben Foster.
The hosts came close to opening the scoring four minutes later. Jerome Thomas' run took him past the Birmingham midfield and as his pass zipped across the area, Odemwingie poked the ball goalwards only to find Foster equal to the effort.
And the Baggies found themselves behind just a minute later. Sebastian Larsson played a superb long free-kick into the box, Dann rose highest to nod the ball back across goal and Jerome was on hand to bundle the ball home.
Foster then again denied Paul Scharner as West Brom pressed before Odemwingie's stunning volley was deflected away by Dann.
As the half wore on, Craig Gardner drilled the ball straight at Scott Carson as Birmingham attempted to gain a foothold, but Blues' Roger Johnson then almost gifted the Baggies a leveller under pressure from Odemwingie.
It was Gabriel Tamas, though, who should have equalised for the hosts on the stroke of half time.
Brunt delivered a pinpoint ball to the far post, only for the Romanian to head wide from a matter of yards.
Carson was called into action immediately after the restart when he punched away Larsson's dangerous cross, but it was the Baggies who struck next.
Thomas set off an a mazy run and his ball across the goal was turned in by the luckless Dann as Odemwingie lurked at his back.
Odemwingie then tried to chip Foster on the run, only to see the ball clear the bar, before Jerome's right footed effort from the edge of the box flew over Carson's goal in a rare Birmingham foray.
The writing looked on the wall for the visitors and when Bowyer miscontrolled the ball facing his own box, Odemwingie nipped in between the defender and Foster to slide the ball home for a deserved lead.
And the Baggies were all but home and dry on 69 minutes when the unmarked Olsson had time to pick his spot and head home.
Birmingham huffed and puffed as they tried to find a way back into the game, but the hosts were never really under threat in the final 20 minutes and Thomas could have added a fourth with a curler that drifted wide of Foster's post.
The Baggies rise to ninth while their neighbours make the short hop home nursing their first defeat of the season.
Ian Hare / Eurosport
Source: uk.eurosport.yahoo.com
Team Line-up:
West Brom: Carson, Jara, Olsson, Tamas, Shorey, Thomas, Scharner, Mulumbu, Brunt, Odemwingie, Fortune. Subs: Myhill, Tchoyi, Pablo, Barnes, Bednar, Reid, Dorrans.
Birmingham: Foster, Carr, Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell, Larsson, Gardner, Ferguson, Bowyer, Hleb, Jerome. Subs: Taylor, Murphy, Derbyshire, Michel, Fahey, Zigic, Beausejour.
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