West Brom paid a heavy price for starting yet another game slowly as defeat by Preston at Deepdale left them languishing in the Championship relegation zone, with just one win all season.
Before the game, under-pressure boss Steve Bruce described their unwanted record of going a goal down within the opening 15 minutes in eight of their last 11 games this season as ‘ludicrous’.
His words went unheeded however with Albion falling behind after only seven minutes — this time when the unmarked Emil Riis swept home Alvaro Fernandez’s low cross.
MATCH FACTS
Preston North End: Woodman, Storey, Lindsay, Cunningham, Browne (Potts 68),Brady (Ledson 73), Whiteman, McCann, Fernandez, Jakobsen (Parrott 85), Maguire (Woodburn 74).