West Bromwich 3 Burnley 0: Albion recover scoring touch

One month into Tony Mowbray's tenure, confusion and contradiction remain at The Hawthorns. The last time West Bromwich Albion's fledgling manager oversaw a 3-0 victory - at home to Wolves in his first game in charge - it was the side's fourth successive win in a run that brought them 14 goals.

Trouble was it was followed by a five-game sequence of four defeats and a draw in which they could barely score. When they did rattle three in against Queen's Park Rangers, their own back-four contrived to let in as many.

The meanest travelling defence in the Championship arrived in the Black Country on Saturday, so Albion duly ran amok to such effect that Burnley were fortunate to get in at half-time having conceded only the three goals that also separated the sides at the end.

"We took our chances early on and the game was put to bed," said the striker, Nathan Ellington, after sandwiching his fifth goal of the season with assists for Jason Koumas and Darren Carter. "It had been an unlucky time for us, but we got what we deserved."

Ellington, Koumas and Kevin Phillips will not have a more inviting day all season. There was not much to carve through and Frank Sinclair, sent off for a second booking, did not get in the same post-code as Koumas apart from when incurring his first yellow card for a late challenge.

Afterwards the Burnley manager, Steve Cotterill, reinforced a popular view. "West Brom have the best squad in this division by a mile," he said.

Goals: Koumas (5) 1-0; Ellington (7)2-0; Carter (44) 3-0.

West Bromwich Albion (4-4-2): Hoult; Albrechtsen, Davies, Perry, Robinson; Kamara, Quashie, Carter, Koumas; Ellington (Chaplow, 74), Phillips. Substitutes not used: Watson, Steele (gk), McShane, Wallwork.

Burnley (4-4-2): Jensen; Sinclair, Duff, Thomas, Harley (Hyde, 58); Elliott (Mahon, h-t), O'Connor, McCann, Jones; Gray, Noel-Williams (Lafferty, 63). Substitutes not used: Coyne (gk), Foster.

Referee: R Beeby (Northamptonshire).

Booked: West Bromwich Albrechtsen, Quashie; Burnley Gray, Harley, Sinclair, Hyde.

Sent off: Sinclair (78).

Man of the match: Quashie.

Attendance: 18,707.