Craig Gardner was the hero as West Bromwich Albion beat 10-man Aston Villa 1-0 at The Hawthorns today for their first victory in five Premier League outings.

Kieran Richardson's red card after just 22 minutes gave the visitors a mountain to climb, but the Villans repelled wave after wave of attack to earn half-time parity.

However, Gardner - a former Villa player - popped up on 72 minutes to tap home from close range as the Baggies secured their first win since November 1.

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at how the players fared in this West Midlands derby.

© Getty Images

Goal

Ben Foster: Largely untested this afternoon by virtue of West Brom's dominance in the final third. Only had two shots to save, but dealt with them both well. (6/10)

Defence

Andre Wisdom: Had very little to do defensively, but contributed to attack regularly throughout a lively second-half showing. (6/10)

Joleon Lescott: Skippered Albion in the continued absence of Chris Brunt and had a very quiet game, but shackled Benteke well in the few rare moments that the Belgian found himself involved. (6/10)

Gareth McAuley: The busier of the two centre-halves when the game was 11 vs. 11 but, like Lescott, had a very quiet afternoon overall. (6/10)

Sebastian Pocognoli: Not much to do defensively, but was a real attacking threat, and would have had an assist in the first half had Sessegnon not missed from his neat cutback. (7/10)

Midfield

James Morrison: Used possession very well throughout his 90 minutes and delivered some fine crosses into the box. (6/10)

Graham Dorrans: Guilty of playing one or two Hollywood balls at times when he should have kept it simple. Still, did very little wrong in midfield. (6/10)

Craig Gardner: Proved the match-winner against his former club, but was not always involved in the game. (7/10)

Silvestre Varela: Far better in the first 45 minutes than the second, giving Alan Hutton a torrid time, but he faded badly after the restart. (5/10)

Stephane Sessegnon: Simply the heart and soul of West Brom's attack in both halves. Perhaps the smallest player on the field, but it was a giant's performance from the diminutive winger. Brilliant. (8/10)

Attack

Brown Ideye: Did not happen for him today. The first half passed him by, and he missed two good chances to vindicate his manager's faith in him during the second half. Looks very low on confidence. (4/10)

Substitutes

Saido Berahino: Swung in the cross which led to the goal, but perhaps a little too selfish overall, often hanging on to the ball instead of releasing his teammates. (5/10)

Goal

Brad Guzan: Culpable for the decisive goal after dropping what seemed a routine catch from Berahino's cross. Made one or two good saves, but they are meaningless now. (4/10)

Defence

Alan Hutton: Slightly suspect defensively, regularly struggling with Varela in the first half, but this was far less prevalent after the break. (5/10)

Ciaran Clark: Far and away Villa's best player on the day, making a series of interceptions and crucial clearances. Unlucky to be leaving The Hawthorns on the losing side. (7/10)

Jores Okore: Less impressive than his centre-back partner after selling himself once or twice, allowing Pocognoli to go through, but a good performance overall. (6/10)

Aly Cissokho: Struggled to contain the lively Sessegnon in both halves. Not one of his better games. (4/10)

Midfield

Kieran Richardson: Sent off after just 22 minutes for a rash challenge on Sessegnon. A moment of madness from the Villa man on his return to The Hawthorns. (3/10)

Carlos Sanchez: Looked very tidy in central midfield and got through a lot of defensive work to limit West Brom's joy through the middle. (6/10)

Tom Cleverley: The game more or less passed him by and he contributed very little to the cause in and out of possession. (4/10)

Charles N'Zogbia: Sacrificed for Delph at half time following a largely anonymous first-half display. They needed his zip when they were chasing the game, though. (4/10)

Attack

Christian Benteke: Cut a frustrated figure for the entire game, but perhaps should have equalised late on when his flick dropped just wide of the post. (4/10)

Gabriel Agbonlahor: Never got going. Villa could have used his pace to help combat Sessegnon, who had plenty of joy against Cissokho in both halves. (4/10)

Substitutes

Fabian Delph: First game in two months, but it did not show. He looked a solid figure deep in Villa's midfield. (4/10)

Andreas Weimann: Contributed very little in an ineffective 12-minute cameo. (4/10)

Written by
Shane Callaghan