West Bromwich Albion went into their home clash against travelling Swansea City at The Hawthorns looking to earn victory to help them push further away from the Premier League's relegation zone.

Building on a strong defensive showing, the Baggies secured all three points thanks to standout strikes from frontmen Brown Ideye and Saido Berahino in the second half.

Here, Sports Mole rates all of the players involved in the midweek action in the Midlands.

Goal

Ben Foster: Had very little to do throughout the game. Made some simple saves from Bafetimbi Gomis, might have been a little more commanding with balls into the box. (6/10)

Defence

Craig Dawson: Defended well and also got forward smartly for set pieces. Could have given his side a lead in the first half but for the heroics of Lukasz Fabianski. (7/10)

Gareth McAuley: Worked well alongside Joleon Lescott and was quick on Gomis whenever he received the ball into his feet. (7/10)

Joleon Lescott: Quiet night for the centre-back. Did his job when required and helped to marshall the West Brom players for his skipper Darren Fletcher. (7/10)

Claudio Yacob: Very little to do given the lack of Swansea's attacking ability. Did well to keep up with the pace of both visiting wingers. (6/10)

Midfield

Darren Fletcher: Impressive showing from the club's new captain. Drove the midfield forward and turned defence into attack incredibly quickly with some incisive passing. Worked hard to press and win the ball back too. (8/10)

James Morrison: Another strong midfield performance. Hassled well alongside Fletcher in the middle and used his pace to get forward and help establish attacking moves. Some enterprising passing too. (8/10)

Callum McManaman: Started brightly and drove at the Swansea defence with great aggression and intent. Was lucky to stay on the pitch after a rash tackle and eventually faded before being removed. (6/10)

Chris Brunt: Bit of a horror show for the often reliable winger. Chose the wrong option on most occasions, especially when deciding to blaze over the bar instead of picking out one of four teammates in the box in the first half. (5/10)

Attack

Brown Ideye: Wonderful performance from the frontman. Conveyed great pace, strength and movement. Capped off his performance with some neat finishing for the opener and a selfless pass for the second goal. (9/10)

Saido Berahino: Constantly on his toes and willing to attack down the left flank. Combined well with Ideye and produced a world-class finish for West Brom's second. (8/10)

Substitutes

Craig Gardner: Worked hard following his introduction for Morrison, but only featured for five minutes at the end of a game that had long run its course. (6/10)

Stefan Sessegnon: Supplied similar pace to McManaman and delivered some good balls into the box. Perhaps a little over inventive at times. (6/10)

Goal

Lukasz Fabianski: Not too much the keeper could do about the result. Pulled off a fine reaction save to deny Dawson in the first period. (7/10)

Defence

Kyle Naughton: Struggled to contain Berahino and failed to get forward in order to provide attacking support for his team. (6/10)

Ashley Williams: Was the more solid of the two centre-backs, but will admit that he found it difficult up against an in-form and strong Ideye. A few poor passes out from defence too. (6/10)

Federico Fernandez: Tough night for the centre-back. Might have done better to clear for the first goal. Should have also pressed higher up the pitch before allowing Berahino to advance unchallenged for the second. (5/10)

Neil Taylor: Did well to match Nathan Dyer down the right wing, but should have been sent off for a terrible challenge in the first half. (6/10)

Midfield

Jonjo Shelvey: Few decent balls going forward. Failed to grab the game by the scruff off the neck when needed. Didn't get forward enough to help out Gomis. (5/10)

Jack Cork: Was barely seen on the ball all night. Appeared to be a bystander. Again, like Shelvey, did not get forward to support the struggling Gomis. (5/10)

Ki Sung-yueng: Played a deeper role in the Swansea side and the Welsh club paid for it. Was unable to show any form of creativity and was often outrun and outclassed by Fletcher and Morrison. (5/10)

Nathan Dyer: Started promisingly down the right wing, although he drifted as the game wore on. Pace failed to provide much threat. (6/10)

Jefferson Montero: The only impressive performance for the away side. Broke down the left with great intent and also found Gomis when asked with balls into the box. (7/10)

Attack

Bafetimbi Gomis: Did not have the quality or strength to hold off the West Brom defence. Might have been a different story had he had some support from his teammates. Shot straight at Foster when given the chance too. (5/10)

Substitutes

Nelson Oliveira: Very little impact on the game and should have been sent off for what seemed to be an unforgivable elbow late on. (5/10)

Wayne Routledge: Wasted the team's best chance by taking far too much time to get his shot off in the second half. Will be pleased to have returned to the team, though. (6/10)

Written by
Christopher Dodd