English Premiership
West Brom move up to third
2012-11-24 17:01
London - West Bromwich Albion continued their
superb start to the Premier League season with a 4-2 win at Sunderland
on Saturday that took them up to third place in the table.
Zoltan
Gera's curling 25-yarder put the visitors ahead after half an hour's
play at the Stadium of Light, before a fumble from Sunderland goalkeeper
Simon Mignolet gifted Shane Long the Baggies' second.
Romelu
Lukaku's 81st-minute penalty made it 3-1 after Craig Gardner had scored
with a deflected free-kick, before Stephane Sessegnon brought Sunderland
back into the game again with a late strike from close range.
However,
Steve Clarke's men struck again in injury through substitute
Marc-Antoine Fortune to secure a fourth straight win and move to within
just two points of the summit.
Newly apppointed Queens Park
Rangers manager Harry Redknapp will watch from the stands later on
Saturday when his new charges tackle second-place Manchester United at
Old Trafford.
Redknapp was officially named QPR coach on Saturday
morning, after Mark Hughes was sacked on Friday, and he immediately told
his squad to knuckle down as they bid to pull away from the foot of the
table.
"The players have to be at it," he told Sky Sports News.
"The
buck stops with them. I know Mark lost his job, but it's down to the
players. He could only do what he could do. The players have not
performed to their potential."
Victory for United will take them
top, with leaders Manchester City not in action until Sunday, when they
visit Chelsea and their new interim coach, Rafael Benitez.
Everton
can close to within a point of fourth-place Chelsea if they win at home
to Norwich City on Saturday, while Stoke City host Fulham and Reading
visit Wigan Athletic.
Arsenal, bidding to trim the five-point gap that separates them from the top four, play at Aston Villa in the evening kick-off.