EPL: Burnley 0-1 West Brom

Hal Robson-Kanu celebrates his goal at Burnley with West Brom team-mate Craig Dawson

Hal Robson-Kanu came off the bench to score the winning goal for West Brom before being sent off shortly after in a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Burnley at Turf Moor.

The Welsh winger livened up a dull game by breaking the deadlock with a smart finish after 71 minutes, but turned from hero to villain just 13 minutes later as he received a straight red card for catching Matthew Lowton in the face with his elbow.

 

In a scrappy game, Burnley had a few half-chances to score with Ben Mee going closest as he missed an open goal with a header in the first half, but ultimately they failed to test Ben Foster in goal as much as they would have liked.

For West Brom, the result means that they have maintained their 100 per cent winning start to the Premier League season following last weekend's success over Bournemouth by the same scoreline and they are, momentarily at least, second in the table behind Manchester United.

It took what seemed like an eternity for the first half to spring into life with both teams guilty of ceding possession far too easily and it looked as though set-pieces would be the most likely scenario in which a goal would be scored.

With five minutes of the first half remaining, West Brom created the clearest chance as Matt Phillips' in-swinging corner from the left was diverted over the bar via the back of Sam Field's head inside the six-yard box.

Just a couple of minutes later it was Burnley's chance to fashion a great opportunity from a corner with Mee somehow heading the ball wide of the far post from just two yards with the goal gaping after Robbie Brady's pinpoint delivery.

West Brom's stand-in skipper Jake Livermore thought he had given his side the lead just after the interval, but his deflected shot off Mee was correctly ruled out as Jay Rodriguez interfered with play from an offside position.

In an attempt to seize the initiative, Tony Pulis threw on Robson-Kanu in place of James McClean on the hour mark and his decision paid off after just ten minutes as the substitute latched onto Phillips' flick-on before firing a shot past Tom Heaton from close range.

Robson-Kanu's involvement didn't end there, though, as on 84 minutes he received his marching orders after appearing to catch Lowton with a flailing arm but fortunately for him his side held on in his absence to secure the all-important three points.