Whenever West Brom play Liverpool at the Hawthorns, it is always penalty decisions that make the telling impact in the game and this year's season opener was no different. Two seasons ago West Brom beat Liverpool under Roy Hodgson thanks to two Chris Brunt penalties, and last season Liverpool beat West Brom with the opener a penalty from Charlie Adam.

West Brom were already 1-0 when the penalties, and in the first case sending off happened, but there can be no denying that the sending off had a huge bearing on the game.

It was a strong start from the Baggies, Liam Ridgewell going close early on, with Liverpool being pressed high up by the hard working Long. He was next to register an effort on goal for Albion, chasing down a ball from Odemwingie and beating Lucas for pace but his lob over Reina was from an impossible angle and there was very little chance of it finding the net. Liverpool started to assert themselves on the game and Luis Suarez was a constant threat to the West Brom defence.

A mis-placed pass from Zoltan Gera fell to Suarez, who glided past Gareth McAuley and Jonas Olsson before driving a 20 yard shot towards goal, Ben Foster palming it away. Suarez is also missed two further chances as Liverpool continued to threaten. Despite this, West Brom were more than holding their own and looked a constant threat on the break. On one such occasion Shane Long was put through on goal and did very well against the Liverpool centre half pairing of Skrtel and Agger, Agger bringing Long down 20 yards from goal, the resulting free kick coming to nothing.

West Brom grabbed the lead just before half time, through a magnificent goal from Zoltan Gera. James Morrison's corner was headed away by Martin Skrtel to around 20 yards out where Gera controlled the ball on his chest before slamming a half volley into the top corner past a despairing dive from Reina. It was a moment Gera had been waiting a long time for, having missed all but two and a half games last season with a cruciate ligament injury.

It was 10 minutes into the 2nd half when Shane Long raced onto a through ball from James Morrison following a slip from Skrtel, bearing down on goal before being pushed on the shoulder by Daniel Agger. In my view it was a foul, though replays suggest it may have been outside the box. Agger was given his marching orders by ref Phil Dowd, Long stepping up to take the penalty himself but his penalty was poor and Reina easily saved.

However it made no difference, as 4 minutes later Long closed down Martin Skrtel and took the ball off his toe, Skrtel bringing Long down as he went to kick the ball. Odemwingie stepped up this time following a small dispute with Morrison over who would take it, arguably putting more pressure on the Nigerian. But it didn't matter, as Odemwingie stepped up and drove the penalty home. This was great news for Albion, Odemwingie getting a goal early on in the season will do wonders for his confidence as he adapts to his new role on the right wing.

The substitutions made by Steve Clarke seem to give an indication as to how Albion will play at home as he brought on Marc Antoine Fortune and Romelu Lukaku to add even more attacking threat. Lukaku was very impressive and set up a gilt-edged chance for Morrison almost immediately, shrugging off Carragher before squaring for Morrison to inexplicably put over the bar.

Lukaku made no such mistake when his chance arrived, Ridgewell floating a ball to the back post where Lukaku headed in with aplomb to score on his debut for the Baggies.

All in all, a very impressive display from Steve Clarke's men and I am certainly looking forward to watching more of that style of football at the Hawthorns. Clarke will have been delighted with not only the fantastic football on display, but also a clean sheet which was no doubt helped by Jonas Olsson recovering from injury in time to captain the side. West Brom have won only one game without Olsson in the Premier League, and his impact on the side was evident here.

Claudio Yacob won the official man of the match award and I'd be hard pressed to argue with that verdict. Yacob did the simple things right, he made some great challenges and was always available, and when given the ball using it effectively, with a pass completion rate of 96%. I believe the way he plays, sitting in front of the back 4, will enable Youssuff Mulumbu to return to the form he displayed in his first season in the Premier League as a driving box to box midfielder.

Another man to return from injury in time for the game was James Morrison, and he continued his form from last season with an energetic display from midfield. He was a constant outlet and played some fantastic passes for Long, the only blot on his copybook being the sitter he blazed over. Long was another man who played well and like Morrison, the only blot being his miss from a very casual penalty.

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