West Brom new signing Peter Odemwingie scored on his debut to earn the Baggies a deserved win over lacklustre Sunderland at The Hawthorns.

The striker, born in Uzbekistan, had missed an earlier chance to get his first goal in a West Brom shirt but did not live to rue that miss as he slotted home a James Morrison pass with nine minutes left on the clock.

The goal was reward for West Brom’s approach to the game and traditional good play against a Sunderland side who were anonymous by comparison in the Midlands.

Nedum Onuoha and Kieron Richardson did give the Black Cats some spark late on but far too late and too weak to threaten a West Brom side who dominated throughout.

Showing no signs of a hangover from last week’s 6-0 drubbing by Chelsea, the hosts, bar a wobbly five minutes after the hour, looked full of verve and creativity.

A job well done for Roberto Di Matteo’s team but sterner tests await with trips to Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United coming up.

Attendance: 23,624
Referee: Friend