Luke Moore again showed his liking for playing against Peterborough United as he helped to fire West Bromwich Albion's promotion challenge back into gear.
Moore, who scored twice against Peterborough in Albion's 3-2 win at London Road in August, finally broke the deadlock at The Hawthorns with a neat 61st-minute strike - only his fourth goal of the season.
Peterborough defender Ryan Bennett then headed into his own net six minutes later as Albion ground out their first win in four games to move two points clear of Nottingham Forest in second place.
Relegation-threatened Peterborough had gone into the game boosted by their first win under the control of new manager Mark Cooper in their previous match against Watford.
But they never really looked likely to make it back-to-back wins and still remain the only side in the Championship without an away victory to their name this season.
Albion have scored more first-half goals than any other team in the Championship, but only came to life in the second period. They never once tested the Peterborough goalkeeper Joe Lewis in the first half.
They only went close to breaking the deadlock before half-time when Jerome Thomas' volley was deflected wide before Gianni Zuiverloon fired over the bar when well-placed.
If chances were at a premium for Albion they were virtually non-existent for Peterborough.
George Boyd's tenth-minute cross momentarily caused chaos in the Albion area when it was spilled by Dean Kiely but that was as good as it got for Peterborough who spent most of the opening 45 minutes very much on the defensive.
Despite the general lack of chances, it always seemed to be a case of when not if Albion would score due to the amount of possession they enjoyed.
The breakthrough came after a surging run into the area by Graham Dorrans teed up Moore to score with a low drive from just inside the area.
Bennett then effectively made the game safe for Albion when he turned the ball into his own net when under pressure from Dorrans following a shot by Moore.
To their credit, Peterborough kept on battling but were denied a consolation strike eight minutes from time when Kiely saved superbly from Shaun Batt.