West Bromwich Albion 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers | Premier League match report

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<div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.22.2/53273?ns=guardian&pageName=West+Bromwich+Albion+2-0+Wolverhampton+Wanderers+%7C+Premier+League+match+%3AArticle%3A1648397&ch=Football&c3=Guardian&c4=Premier+League+2011-12%2CWest+Brom+%28Football%29%2CWolverhampton+Wanderers+%28Football%29%2CFootball%2CSport&c5=Unclassified&c6=Stuart+James&c7=11-Oct-16&c8=1648397&c9=Article&c10=Match+report&c11=Football&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FFootball%2FPremier+League+2011-12" width="1" height="1" /></div><p>The bright start that Wolverhampton Wanderers made to the season is beginning to feel like a trick of the mind. Mick McCarthy's side slumped to a fifth straight league defeat here – their worst run in the top flight since 1984, when they were relegated – as goals from Chris Brunt and Peter Odemwingie secured their Black Country rivals a much-needed victory of their own that lifted them out of the relegation zone.</p><p>Wolves had no shortage of possession, especially in the opening 45 minutes, but the absence of a cutting edge was every bit as glaring as the defensive vulnerability that West Bromwich Albion ruthlessly exposed with some classic counter-attacking in their first home win of the season.</p><p>The Albion supporters were jumping the gun when they chanted "You're getting sacked in the morning," as McCarthy looked on forlornly from the touchline, but tThere is no disputing that these are worrying times for the Wolves manager. After collecting two wins and a draw from their opening three matches, they have failed to pick up a point since. "It's my team. It's my responsibility," McCarthy said. "But it's no more pressure than I've been under normally."</p><p>McCarthy was unhappy with Paul Scharner, the Albion midfielder, whom he accused of "taking the $$$$", after the Austrian angered Stephen Hunt and Stephen Ward by lifting his shirt late on in the game to reveal a top that McCarthy seemed to think carried a message.</p><p>"I don't know what it said on it but it was obviously something that annoyed Wardy at the time," said McCarthy. "I'm all right with them having a backheel but it's kind of taking the $$$$ and rubbing people's noses in it [to do that with the shirt] when you're getting beaten."</p><p>Scharner disputed that he was guilty of anything inflammatory. "My kids gave it to me, it's just a T-shirt with a big Albion logo on it and that's what I showed to the supporters," he said.</p><p>Wolves have bigger issues to worry about. They face Swansea City at home on Saturday and will have to show a marked improvement at both ends of the pitch if they are to get out of their current rut. Roger Johnson was particularly poor here and will be keen to see the back of the outstanding Shane Long, whose movement and pace troubled the Wolves captain throughout.</p><p>Wolves fell behind in the eighth minute. Billy Jones, who impressed on his Premier League debut, ran on to Youssouf Mulumbu's pass before expertly cutting the ball back for Brunt to sweep home. Kevin Doyle came close to equalising six minutes later, when Jonas Olsson blocked superbly, and Johnson squandered a decent headed chance midway through the second half.</p><p>West Bromwich, however, always looked menacing when they broke upfield and it was no surprise when they added a second goal, Scharner's neat backheel inviting Odemwingie, who has endured a difficult start to the season and had only come off the substitutes' bench four minutes earlier, to drill into the bottom corner. "The goal will be good for him," Roy Hodgson, the Albion manager, said. "It's important for him that he realises that we're all 100 per cent behind him and that we don't expect him to shoulder the whole burden to keep us in the league."</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/premier-league-2011-12">Premier League 2011-12</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/westbrom">West Brom</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/wolves">Wolverhampton Wanderers</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/stuartjames">Stuart James</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; 2011 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" />
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