Ellington orchestrates Baggies win

WEST BROM striker Nathan Ellington came off the bench to score his eighth goal of the season and earn Albion a 1-0 victory over Cardiff.

Ellington, who has not started a game for West Brom in more than three months, broke the deadlock with a spectacular second-half strike to give the Championship promotion chasers a ninth win in their last 10 home games.

The hosts had been on the offensive early on as Robert Koren tested Neil Alexander with a left-foot shot the City goalkeeper tipped wide.

Cardiff responded through Steven Thompson who headed a Peter Whittingham corner narrowly wide.

Kevin Phillips had the ball in the net with 24 minutes gone only to see his header ruled offside. But with 10 minutes to the break Thompson hit the Albion crossbar after Dean Kiely miskicked a free-kick to the striker.

Kiely was out of his penalty area to tackle Paul Parry, before Albion made a double substitution on the hour as John Hartson replaced Chaplow and Ellington came on for Phillips.

And the switches almost paid immediate dividends as Parry backheeled into the path of Robinson who in turn fed Ellington, but the ball stuck on a stodgy pitch under the forward’s feet.

The Bluebirds were seeing more of the ball, though, and Joe Ledley pushed a chance wide before Ellington’s 25-yard effort flew over Alexander and into the far top corner.

WEST BROM: Kiely, Albrechtsen, Clement, McShane, Robinson, Greening, Chaplow (Hartson 61), Koumas (Carter 71), Koren, Kamara, Phillips (Ellington 60).

CARDIFF: Alexander, Gunter, Johnson, McNaughton, Ledley, Parry (Flood 80), McPhail, Blake, Whittingham, Byrne (Redan 71), Thompson (Campbell 86).