West Bromwich Albion 1-0 Blackpool: Carlos Corberan earns first win as Baggies boss
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Okay Yokuslu was in the right place at the right time to bundle home West Brom's winner
Okay Yokuslu scrambled home a late winner to give West Bromwich Albion their first win under new boss Carlos Corberan and only their third Championship victory of the season.
The Baggies were nearing 400 minutes without a Hawthorns goal until the Turkey midfielder scored five minutes from time after Blackpool failed to clear a corner.
Michael Appleton's Seasiders had produced a strong defensive performance against the hosts, albeit with little attacking impetus.
They looked destined for a valuable point until Yokuslu pounced to lift Albion off the foot of the table.
It was a fairly low-key, tense affair at The Hawthorns. Albion supporters, unhappy with the club's owners, showed their dissatisfaction by displaying their mobile phone torches as the stadium clock struck 12 minutes - a reference to the reported £12m owed in outstanding loans.
On the pitch there were few rays of light, with neither side able to impose any kind of control during the opening half hour of the game.
Karlan Grant really should have done better in the 32nd minute. The Albion man raced through from an onside position to reach a Yokuslu pass. The former Huddersfield forward turned a defender, only to place a low shot into the arms of Chris Maxwell.
Kyle Bartley went close for the home side just before the break, only to see his header, from John Swift's corner, easily collected by the Blackpool keeper.
The Baggies continued to press after the break. Matt Phillips rattled a shot off the bar in the 49th minute after darting down the right wing and cutting inside on to his left foot.
Sonny Carey was lucky not to be punished in the 53rd minute when he dithered on the ball, allowing Jed Wallace to claim possession. The Albion winger opted to send a pass across the pitch to Phillips, who cut the ball back to Swift - his shot sailed way over Maxwell's goal.
At the other end, Blackpool were starting to impose more of their own threat as the game started to open up.
CJ Hamilton showed initiative in the 75th minute when he was found by a raking pass from the right wing. His shot deflected away for a corner. That was as good as it got for the visitors.
Albion claimed victory through former Celta Vigo man Yokuslu, who was quickest to react to a late Baggies' corner that Blackpool failed to deal with. It gave Albion their first home win since a 5-2 triumph against Hull in August.
West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan:
"The team was doing everything to win the three points. It was a deserved win.
"We have a tough situation to face. That won't change after one win. We need to be ready to fight a lot in every game to achieve the results we want to achieve.
"The performance of him [Yokuslu] was excellent, not just because of the goal. I don't remember him losing the ball and he really competed."
Blackpool boss Michael Appleton:
"I can't say we did enough to win the game but the way it was going there weren't particularly many clear-cut chances. You are thinking it's going to fizzle out into a 0-0 draw but you'd take that on the road and move on.
"If that's a version of us at our worst with the ball - we have been miles better. I'll take that knowing I have got some really good nights ahead of me with this group.
"We've gone to big grounds and clubs and gone toe-to-toe and scored lots of goals. We didn't look like scoring. I know the group we have got and the characters we have in the dressing room and they'll be ready to go again on Saturday."
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