Clarke proud of stylish Baggies

Last updated : 26 November 2012 By Wba-mad Editor

Steve Clarke praised his Albion side after they won their fourth consecutive league game in the top flight since 1980.

Goals from Zoltan Gera, Shane Long, Romelu Lukaku and Marc-Antonie Fortune moved Albion up to third in the Premier League during a classy 4-2 win at Sunderland.  

Albion controlled the majority of the game but were twice pegged back late on as Sunderland pushed forward.

Clarke praised his side for staying mentally strong during spells of pressure but admitted he never doubted his troops would go on to win.

“We played really well,” said the Scot.

“Scoring four goals against any Premier League team is no easy feat and the players deserve all the credit they're getting.

“It's very difficult to win four games on the trot at this level – but we've achieved that.

“The way we passed the ball and controlled the possession, we were a joy to watch.

“I was really, really proud of the team as I was giving my half-time team talk because we were fantastic in the first half.

“All credit to Sunderland. They came out second half and had a go – as we knew they would.

“They put a lot of balls into our box and when we had to hang in there, we did. But we still created chances.

“It took a big slice of fortune for them to get back into the game.

“At 2-1, it started to look a little bit dangerous but we went up a gear again.

“Obviously, Sunderland had to come on to us in the second half but we knew we could pick them off on the counter-attack – and that’s what we did.

“We’re mentally strong. There was a little bit of pressure building at the end but we handled the period between being 3-2 up and 4-2 up, which was only a few minutes, very well.

“We were still a threat going forward and still looking for the goal that would kill the game.

“We’ve said all along we’ve got great strikers and forward players at the club. We know if we get enough of the ball we’ll create chances.”

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