Dorrans takes advantage of Blackpool's error
Blackpool 2 West Bromwich 3
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Your support makes all the difference.On this evidence, the soft underbelly that marked West Bromwich Albion's stint in the Premier League has well and truly gone as Roberto Di Matteo's side moved back into the Championship automatic promotion places.
After falling behind to Keith Southern's goal, Roman Bednar scored twice for Di Matteo's team and even after Stephen Dobbie had pulled Blackpool level, there was more resolve as Graham Dorrans converted his sixth penalty of the season for West Bromwich to become just the third team to take three points at Bloomfield Road this season.
Di Matteo, whose side have only lost once away from home, said: "We've spent most of our season there so it was good to keep putting pressure on Newcastle and Forest and just keep winning points and creeping up the table. We have a striker scoring goals on a regular basis and he works hard for the team as well and puts defenders under pressure. I'm pleased with the way we got the win."
Midway through the opening period, the hosts took a deserved lead when Danny Coid timed a pass perfectly to Southern, who burst into the area and guided a low shot past Carson.
But the advantage was to last just three minutes as Chris Brunt finally beat Blackpool's offside trap to feed Bednar, who waited for goalkeeper Paul Rachubka to commit and then rolled the ball into an empty net.
Five minutes before the interval, West Bromwich took the lead when another Brunt ball got them in behind and the right-back Gonzalo Jara crossed to the far post for Bednar to touch in.
Andy Butler came on to replace Coid at the interval, but almost scored an own goal with his first touch, heading on to the post from Brunt's cross.
As Blackpool began to pile on the pressure, D J Campbell saw a thumping drive bounce away off the bar but the hosts pulled level when an instinctive shot from Dobbie, who joined on loan from Swansea City on transfer deadline day, hit the corner of Carson's net.
But West Bromwich would not settle for the draw and when Butler clipped Ishmael Miller in the area, Dorrans made no mistake from the penalty spot for his 12th goal of the season.
The Blackpool manager, Ian Holloway, was irritated by the award and said: "I'm delighted but I hate losing. It was a penalty because the ref gave it or at least that's what my wife will tell me. I'm delighted we showed the character we did and the football we played. It was a big test for us to see how far we are off from the big boys in this division and we weren't that far."
Blackpool (4-4-2): Rachubka; Coid (Butler, 46), Evatt, Edwards, Crainey; Bannan (Dobbie, 58), Southern, Vaughan, Adam; Burgess (Taylor Fletcher, 58), Campbell. Substitutes not used: Gilks (gk), Martin, Euell, Husband.
West Bromwich Albion (4-5-1): Carson; Jara, Olsson, Tamas, Cech; Brunt (Zuiverloon, 75), Dorrans, Mulumbu, Koren, Thomas (Slory, 53); Bednar (Miller, 65) Substitutes not used: Kiely (gk), Cox, Moore, Meite.
Referee: D Foster (Newcastle).
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