Tony Mowbray’s return to the dugout ended in defeat as his West Brom side were beaten 2-0 by Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium.
The 61-year-old was appointed as Baggies head coach for a second stint and oversaw his first match since recovering from bowel cancer.
Mowbray was greeted with applause from both sets of fans as he walked to the touchline prior to kick-off to face Boro, who he represented both as a player and manager.
However, his return was dampened by his hometown club who sealed the win through Hayden Hackney’s pinpoint strike and Ben Doak’s equally magnificent top-corner finish.
Victory ended a three-game winless run in all competitions for Michael Carrick’s team, who moved above West Brom into the Sky Bet Championship play-off places.
Match Action
The visitors fielded an unchanged team, while Boro made two alterations as Aidan Morris and Luke Ayling came into the starting line-up, replacing Dan Barlaser and George Edmundson, the latter of whom was recalled by parent club Ipswich ahead of the game.
Emmanuel Latte Lath had the first real chance when his shot was blocked by Alex Palmer and another promising Boro move saw skipper Ayling dispatch a menacing cross to the back post, but Darnell Furlong made a brilliant diving header to clear the danger.
They tested West Brom again from the right, this time Hackney crossing the ball in for Latte Lath, who could only fire over the crossbar.
West Brom had a fantastic chance when Karlan Grant sent a curling cross towards the far post and Tom Fellows raced to meet it but scuffed the ball behind.
Hackney put Boro ahead in the 29th minute after finding himself in plenty of space 25 yards out, smashing a low strike into the bottom corner.
Second Half
The hosts looked to extend their advantage before the break as Finn Azaz had an effort from a tight angle pushed away by Palmer and Latte Lath hacked a chance wide before flicking a header past the goal minutes later.
West Brom attacked the Boro box either side of half-time, but were unable to fully threaten the home defence until Mikey Johnston came close with a sliced shot that flew wide in the 52nd minute.
Johnston was involved again when his cross was met by Mason Holgate, but the resulting header was pushed onto the post by Tom Glover and the goalkeeper was called into action moments later to deny Fellows at the near post.
Boro had posed some threat with another dangerous Ayling cross before Hackney attempted to replicate his first-half strike.
However, it was Doak who extended the lead in the 83rd minute with a fantastic curling effort from the edge of the box that went into the top corner.
West Brom nearly pulled a goal back in stoppage time, but John Swift’s free-kick whistled past the post.
READ MORE: Michael Carrick pleased to see Middlesbrough play ‘some really good football’
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