West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan praised “very important player” Daryl Dike after the American’s goal against Reading secured an eighth win in nine Sky Bet Championship game for the Baggies.
Dike’s 60th-minute goal – his first at The Hawthorns a year and a day since signing for £7million – was the only one Albion managed in the match despite a glut of first-half chances, but was enough to move them within a point of the play-off zone.
Okay Yokuslu, Jayson Molumby, Conor Townsend – who also hit the post – and Dike all missed opportunities in the 1-0 triumph while Royals goalkeeper Joe Lumley made three vital saves before Dike’s diving header from Molumby’s cross proved the difference.
“He had a long-term injury but he’s a very important player for us,” Corberan said of Dike.
“The fitter he is, the better it is for the team. The more he trains, the better condition he’s in to perform.
“So there isn’t any doubt that he’s one very important player for us that we need to keep controlling, because he’s one player that we need in the box.”
Corberan added: “I think sometimes he plays against himself because he tries to do a lot of things.
“In the first half he made a lot of runs but not all in the right areas. But in the second half he was in the areas he needed to be a lot more.”
Corberan, whose side extended their record of not conceding a goal in open play to 877 minutes, acknowledged Albion had to be patient after being kept at bay before the break.
“When you don’t score, you can try to do something else and sometimes, something else is something less,” he said.
Paul Ince admitted Reading were fortunate to still be in the game at half-time after a “horrendous” opening.
“The first 20 minutes were horrendous from our point of view,” said the Royals boss, whose team could have snatched an undeserved point when Baba Rahman headed over from point-blank range near the end.
“We looked like a team that was tired and jaded and we could have been two or three goals down if it wasn’t for Joe Lumley.
“He was exceptional – just as he was against Norwich the other day – but this time he was a miracle goalkeeper, with some of the saves he pulled off.
“That was the wake-up call for us. We were happy to be 0-0 as they should have been 2-0 or 3-0 up and we were very fortunate.
“They were very good – they were lively, so we looked tired and they looked fresh and lively.
“You could tell they’d had an extra day off.”
Regarding the goal, Ince said: “We talked all week about blocking crosses and not letting people put balls in the box and the first time we let one in, they scored.”
Albion fans continued their protests against controlling shareholder and chairman Guochuan Lai by a mobile phone light show in the second half.
Hundreds gathered outside the directors’ entrance after the game chanting for Lai’s removal after his failure to meet the December 31 deadline to repay a £5m loan from the club.
But Corberan insisted nothing had changed his plans for the transfer window in January.
“For me the plans are the same, everything is the same, but I understand the frustration of the fans,” he said.
