Liverpool 0 West Brom 2: Foster delight as Baggies leapfrog Reds

Man-of-the-match Ben Foster hopes West Bromwich Albion’s shock win at Liverpool will prove to be a turning point for his side after they leapfrogged the Reds into eighth place.

The home side dominated possession for most of the game but failed to break down a stubborn Baggies rearguard when it counted.

Liverpool were poised to take the lead in the 77th minute but Steven Gerrard saw his penalty saved by an inspired Foster, marking the Reds’ fifth miss from their last six spot-kicks.

And the visitors, who had not won since a Boxing Day victory at QPR, stunned Anfield when Gareth McAuley headed home Chris Brunt’s corner just three minutes later to give them a 1-0 lead.

Brendan Rodgers’ men piled forward in search of an equaliser but substitute Romelu Lukaku secured the three points for the visitors with a cool finish in the 90th minute.

“We needed that,” Foster told Sky Sports. “We have been on a poor run but the the performances have been decent so we knew going into the game we had a chance. We knew set-pieces would be a big one for us.

“I hope [it’s a turning point]. We’ve got a tough game against Sunderland but we’ll just take it a game at a time. We had a great start to the season and this puts us on 36 points so within touching distance of that 40 points,

“It’s very nice [to be above Liverpool], if you’d have said that at the start of the season that at this stage we’d be above Liverpool…we’ll take that, no doubt.”

West Brom boss Steve Clarke singled out Foster for special praise after the game, which was his side’s second triumph over the Reds this season following their opening-day win at The Hawthorns.

“That’s why we spent a little bit of money on him last summer,” said Clarke. “We don’t spend much at the Albion but when we spend it, we spend it wisely.

“When you get a goalkeeper like Ben Foster and he plays like that, everyone can see why we spent the money on him.”

Clarke, whose side host Sunderland at The Hawthorns in 12 days’ time, added: “It’s not been the best year so far but it was good to come here and play well and it’s a terrific win for us.

“Since the turn of the year things haven’t gone our way. Some of our performances have been decent but we haven’t been getting the results.

“I’m absolutely delighted for the players. They put so much effort into every game they play and to get that reward tonight is really great for them.”