West Bromwich Albion 2-0 Queens Park Rangers: Baggies see off 10-man Hoops

Brandon Thomas-Asante broke the deadlock for West Brom after a frustrating first half at The Hawthorns

Queens Park Rangers' winless run was extended to eight games to pile on the pressure on boss Gareth Ainsworth as his luckless Hoops lost to two second-half goals by West Bromwich Albion.

After a dreadful first half, the game all hinged on a 58th-minute incident in which Albion were awarded a controversial penalty before Jimmy Dunne was sent off for arguing about it.

After Grady Diangana was adjudged to have been brought down by Kenneth Paal, several QPR players showed dissent - and referee James Bell issued centre-back Dunne with a second yellow card to earn the Rangers defender his early exit.

Brandon Thomas-Asante brutally slammed a right-foot penalty for his fourth goal of the season - but his first since August.

Then, just nine minutes later, Diangana drilled the Albion second from close range to complete the Baggies' fifth league win of the season and elevate them into the top six.

But victory came at a cost for Albion. Already without three front players - top scorer John Swift, summer signing Josh Maja and long-term casualty Daryl Dike - Carlos Corberan's side began the night without Conor Townsend and Semi Ajayi, and then lost Cedric Kipre with what Corberan called a "serious" late knee injury.

On a night when the game was 13 minutes late kicking off following the late arrival of the QPR team coach, the visitors failed to manage a single shot on target - and never remotely looked like doing so once they were down to 10 men.

Albion might have been ahead in the opening minutes when, after being fed by Diangana's curling cross from the left, Thomas-Asante tried to take a touch to control the ball - and the chance was gone.

That set the tone for a very flat first half - and it took a moment of defensive brilliance to lift the contest early in the second half.

QPR's Ilias Chair looked to have the goal at his mercy eight yards out but he was halted only by a magnificent block from home defender Cedric Kipre.

Suitably lifted, Albion got up the other end, Diangana won the hosts their match-turning penalty, added his first goal since February - and Albion could have added a third in injury time.

Skipper Jed Wallace's low right-foot effort whistled just wide, but Albion had still done enough to celebrate the completion of Corberan's first 12 months as Baggies boss, following his appointment a year ago.

Who's next?

Albion, who ended the evening four places higher than they started it, in fifth, do not play now for another six nights when they meet fellow Midlanders Coventry City at the CBS Arena on Monday.

But QPR, still four points adrift of safety in 22nd, are back in action sooner than that when Ainsworth's men face the thankless task of hosting Championship leaders Leicester City.

West Bromwich Albion boss Carlos Corberan told BBC Radio WM:

"You need to be patient - and you need to use your advantage. And we scored our goals when we had one player more.

"We were playing against a team who were defending with 10 players.

"Grady Diangana has done well. He improved in the second half.

"Cedric Kipre has a knee injury. It looked like a serious knee injury. We will find out in the morning after a scan how many months he will be out."

QPR boss Gareth Ainsworth:

"We had a plan which was working, then all of a sudden it turns on that moment. A crazy penalty and then a crazy moment.

"Jimmy Dunne gets involved in something that the referee says happened on the penalty spot. And you can't do it with 10 men.

"He's apologised. But that's what happening at the moment. Everything seems to be going against us.

"The fans are getting very frustrated. A few songs and criticisms but we are fighters. And we will get out of this."