Josh Maja's goal was his sixth in six league games this season - but his first at The Hawthorns
Josh Maja's second-half tap-in was enough for West Bromwich Albion to edge out a nervous 1-0 win over Plymouth Argyle.
Carlos Corberan's Baggies returned to the top of the Championship table after Sunderland had temporarily claimed the spot earlier in the day following their victory over Middlesbrough.
Maja's goal arrived in the 62nd minute against the run of play at The Hawthorns after Plymouth started the second half the brighter side.
But Wayne Rooney's men failed to make their chances count as they fell to a third defeat of the season to leave them 20th in the Championship.
As they have done all season, Albion began the match in blistering style, nearly scoring in the first two minutes when winger Karlan Grant's acute cross was prodded wide by Maja.
Argyle grew as the game wore on and nearly got the lead in the 20th minute when the lively Ibrahim Cissokho's cross was narrowly diverted wide by striker Ryan Hardie.
The Baggies then responded immediately with a chance of their own, when Grant hit the near post with a powerful low drive.
The woodwork turned out to be a familiar foe for Albion as Alex Mowatt, who scored twice last week against Portsmouth, curled an effort onto the right post from outside the box before fellow midfielder John Swift did the same to the left post just after the half-hour.
Counter-attack
Plymouth did not let the chances affect them, often reminding the hosts of their counter-attacking threat with Morgan Whittaker and Darko Gyabi denied by the Baggies' former on-loan Plymouth keeper Alex Palmer.
The Devon club started much more on the front foot after the break as Whittaker forced another save from Palmer, but their squandered chances ultimately cost them when Albion got the only goal of the game.
Summer signing Uros Racic, on loan from Italian club Sassuolo, on his full debut deputising for the injured Jayson Molumby, sent in a perfect low cross for Maja - and Plymouth could not find an equaliser.
'Many things we can do to improve'
Although not a perfect performance, Albion's fifth win in six games is the club's best start to a season in 31 years - since the 1992-93 promotion season - but boss Carlos Corberan said there are "many things" his players can do better.
"Especially in the game understanding and the game management," Corberan told BBC Radio WM. "In the first half, there were situations where we had to be more patient and we forced passes with our advantage.
"I guarantee there are many things we can do to improve."
The Baggies will be hoping to retain top spot at Sheffield Wednesday next Saturday.
Rooney 'pleased' despite defeat
Last week's 3-2 victory over Sunderland, their first of the season, gave Rooney reason to believe that his side were improving and that his poor start as Argyle boss - no wins in their first four league games - was behind him.
It was fairly even with both sides having chances, Plymouth particularly in the second half through the industrious Whittaker, but Rooney's side struggled to cope defensively with promotion-chasing Albion's pace and quality.
"The pleasing thing is we're showing we can compete with the best teams in the league," said the former England captain.
"We're more than capable of causing teams problems. We're getting more and more confident with the ball, which is pleasing.
"Certainly since the first game, which of course was a disaster for us, a disastrous start, we've competed in every game. We've shown we're a good team, and if we play like we did here, we'll pick up a lot of wins."
Plymouth will look to bounce back next Friday night when they host Luton.
