Baggies beat Robins in delayed match

Last updated on .From the section Championship

West Brom cruised past Bristol City to move up to second in the Championship in a game which was twice delayed because of medical emergencies in the crowd.

After the game West Brom said both fans were conscious in hospital and would receive further treatment.

On the pitch the Baggies were dominant, Jordan Hugill's first goal for the club putting them ahead from a low Darnell Furlong cross before the full-back once again supplied the ammunition when his long throw was headed home by Kyle Bartley.

Nigel Pearson's Bristol City were sloppy throughout and fell three behind as Danny Simpson's poor backpass allowed Karlan Grant to steal in and confidently finish from the edge of the box.

The Robins remain 16th in the table after a fourth defeat in five games and they were fortunate not to lose by a wider margin, while Valerien Ismael's side were much improved on their recent subdued displays.

On top of the medical stoppages there were 10 minutes of added time in the first half because of an injury to Bristol City defender Nathan Baker, who was stretchered off with a head injury, meaning the game did not finish until just after 17:20 BST.

Baker was given oxygen on the field and taken to hospital but was reportedly "doing well".

West Brom were without injured talisman Alex Mowatt, with veteran Robert Snodgrass making his first start of the season, but Hugill could have scored a first-half hat-trick as the hosts created a hatful of opportunities.

Straight after conceding the opener Robins striker Nahki Wells had the ball in the back of the net, only to be denied by a very late - but correctly raised - offside flag, and it all went downhill from there.

Scotland international Snodgrass curled against the inside of the post before the Baggies doubled their lead and, with the score at 3-0, Hugill saw an effort cleared off the line after being played through by the returning Grady Diangana.

Bristol City have now conceded 31 goals in their past 11 league games against West Brom, who stay unbeaten at home in the Championship this season and remain six points behind leaders Bournemouth.

Both managers started their post-match interviews by giving their best wishes to the two supporters who required emergency treatment in the stadium.

"It was a very strange afternoon," former Barnsley head coach Ismael told BBC Radio WM.

"To the two fans and the Bristol player as well, the best wishes for their recoveries from me, my staff and the club."

His opposite number Pearson told BBC Radio Bristol: "I'm glad that both supporters are doing OK.

"It's only a game of football after all, so it was always going to be more important that those medical issues were dealt with in the appropriate manner."

However the Bristol City manager was not complimentary about his side's display.

"We made it far too easy for them - I thought we were very disjointed, we made far too many unforced errors and didn't get to grips with the pace of the game.

"Credit to West Brom, they pressed very quickly, they made it difficult for players to have time on the ball and we made so many poor decisions."

On his team's performance, West Brom boss Ismael added: "I think we learned to keep the concentration and focus on the game and it was great to see.

"It was really perfect because we should score more goals and we're moving now in a good direction."