Football Mar 15, 2026

West Bromwich Albion 3-0 Hull City: Baggies claim first win of 2026 to boost survival hopes

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
West Bromwich Albion 3-0 Hull City: Baggies claim first win of 2026 to boost survival hopes

Struggling West Brom posted their first Championship victory in 14 matches as they swept aside play-off hopefuls Hull 3-0 at The Hawthorns and breathed life into their survival chances.

Josh Maja opened the scoring in the 23rd minute when he turned in Jed Wallace's cross, and strike partner Aune Heggebo doubled the advantage in the 68th minute - by which point the Tigers had been reduced to 10 men having seen Charlie Hughes dismissed for denying a goalscoring opportunity.

Isaac Price added a deserved third late in the game as Albion moved out of the relegation zone.

The hosts began quickly. Hull goalkeeper Ivor Pandur was quickly off his line to deny Heggebo when sought by Price, and then Heggebo was inches away from meeting Danny Imray's cross from the right hand side.

Albion might have taken the lead through Crystal Palace loanee Imray himself, only for Pandur to beat his drive away at his near post.

Maja's header shortly afterwards fell the wrong side of the post as the hosts' early dominance continued, before Hull began to ask questions of their own.

Oli McBurnie went close when he took advantage of defender George Campbell's misjudgement, but he dragged his shot wide of goal.

The opportunities continued to present themselves in what was an entertaining opening quarter of an hour. Albion captain Wallace pulled one cross back into the path of Heggebo, whose resulting shot after a dummy from Price was weak and comfortably held by Pandur.

Hull, who boast one of the best away records in the Championship this season, went close again when goalkeeper Max O'Leary skewed his clearance into the path of McBurnie, but the Scotland forward was kept at bay by the goal-saving challenge of Nat Phillips.

West Brom did make the breakthrough midway through the first half, when another goalkeeping blunder proved costly. Wallace raced onto his own charge-down after a poor goal kick from Pandur, and his following cross was turned home by Maja.

Matters worsened for the promotion chasing Tigers before half-time. Hughes was caught in possession on the edge of his own penalty area by Wallace and, after tugging the winger back as he raced towards goal, referee Josh Smith deemed it the denial of a goalscoring opportunity and produced his red card.

West Brom might have extended their advantage before half-time when Maja was denied by the fingertips of Pandur, and then former Baggies defender Semi Ajayi glanced Jayson Molumby's follow-up off the line after Callum Styles had almost netted directly from a corner.

The 10 men of Hull looked to hold Albion, who lost goalkeeper O'Leary to injury in the second half, at bay for as long as possible, but their defence was breached again after the hour mark when substitute Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba, with his first touch of the ball, teed up Heggebo and he applied the finishing touch with a neat, first-time finish.

The hosts, good value for their lead, remained the likelier of the two sides in the closing stages to trouble either goalkeeper and went close again when Styles let fly from 25 yards, only to see his strike cannon off of the crossbar.

They did add a third in stoppage time when Price latched onto Imray's low centre to emphatically secure their first victory of 2026 - Hull remain fifth having failed to cash in on Millwall's defeat elsewhere.

West Brom's James Morrison:

"I'm going to enjoy the winning feeling, it's been a long time coming. It shows the work we've been putting in. The lads have taken on board what we've said and have executed to the level required. It was a top performance from start to finish.

"I was a bit apprehensive with it being the third game in a week, but there were some top performances out there today.

"One of the big things in this time is that we are going to have to fight for every ball, and they gave even more than what I expected. I've asked for consistency heading into this game and putting layers on the performances. It was there and I enjoyed watching it.

"There are a lot of tired bodies because of the physical output in fighting for every ball, but the togetherness has been growing and everybody is proud of themselves. There's a lot of noise in the dressing room.

"Even at the start of this season, this has been a tough place for teams to come to. We have talked about getting the home form back and we had to put the show on for the fans to come with us - they could see it."

Hull's Sergej Jakirovic:

"My opinion is that West Bromwich were very good in the game, very aggressive. On the ball they were very good, first and second balls they were there.

"They pressed us good and they had some chances, but so did we with (Oli) McBurnie and we could've punished them but we didn't. The first goal is a funny goal. We are a professional team and we can defend that, stop that.

"After the red card everything was very difficult. We had a lot of problems on our left side and we sat too back much - that was not the plan.

"Also I can say West Bromwich were quality. This position of West Bromwich…it's not a true picture. I know, because I've watched their games and from the beginning of the season they have not had luck. They've performed good without results. They deserved this, congratulations to them."

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