Carlos Corberán delivers Portsmouth verdict

Carlos Corberán is interviewed following Albion’s win at Portsmouth

Carlos Corberán praised Albion’s finishing in their 3-0 triumph at Portsmouth on Sunday afternoon.

The Baggies stormed to the top of the Sky Bet Championship table thanks to Josh Maja’s fifth goal of the campaign and Alex Mowatt’s magnificent brace.

The boss believes the result doesn’t offer a true reflection of how the encounter played out, but insists he was proud of the players’ mentality to get through a challenging opening half when the home team put his side under plenty of pressure.

Carlos Corberán applauds Albion fans after the full-time whistle at Portsmouth

Carlos said: “I’m very happy with the result we have achieved and with the mentality of the players, but I don’t think the result shows what has happened on the pitch today.

“I think it was a very competitive game and a very demanding one. We suffered more than we wanted to suffer and they were pressing very well in the first half which we couldn’t find the right solution for for a little while.

“With the passing of the minutes, we understood better the game that we were playing. It was very tough and very demanding.

“From the start of the second half, we understood the game better and we tried to play much more in their half of the pitch. In the first half, we were playing more in our half.

“When you score the second goal, it helps the team to keep performing well and get closer to the right result, while also probably decreasing the energy of the opponent. It was tough for them to keep the tempo up after that.

Carlos Corberán on the sidelines at Portsmouth

“It’s positive to score so early. It’s always better to be in front of the opponent, but I didn’t see them affected by the early goal and they competed at a high level.

“They had some chances to score goals, but at the same time, we had some chances to increase our advantage.

“There are things that we’ve done well and we need to insist on doing, and there are also things we need to improve on.

“Alex Mowatt’s level of finishing for his two goals was excellent and magic. We know he’s a player with very good finishing, so hopefully he keeps on giving us this level.

“The fact we are now top of the table shows how important it is to compete with the right mentality. If you don’t play with the right mentality, then it is very difficult to win these games. We know how difficult this competition is, but all of the players need to know this.

“Every opponent is going to make things difficult for us. We can only focus on the things that we can control. The key is to be focused if we’re going to carry on achieving results.”