West Bromwich Albion manager Steve Clarke has heaped praise on his striking duo after Shane Long and Romelu Lukaku combined for the winner in the 1-0 defeat of Reading this afternoon.

Lukaku got the nod to start over Long in the game, but Clarke was delighted with his decision to combine them up front in the second half.

"Obviously it paid off, we got the goal," Sky Sports News quotes Clarke as saying. "A super ball from Graham Dorrans who'd just come on to the pitch and a great header down and Rom got the finish that went through somebody's legs.

"The thinking is I have a really good squad. Lukaku has been sitting on the bench for a long time waiting for a start.

"Shane has been fantastic for me, he's come in, he's done the hard shift, he's always done the shift from the start of the game."

The win has put West Brom third in the Premier League ahead of tomorrow's fixtures.

Written by
Matt Domm