Albion 3, Reading 0.

To be promoted from the Championship requires an ability to respond to a variety of challenges.

Poor results and performances from Albion have been infrequent again so far this season.

They have suffered mainly against sides that play an expansive style.

Three opponents fall most obviously into that category: Huddersfield, Brentford and Reading.

Albion were well beaten at Huddersfield at the beginning of the month and recovered to escape with a draw at Brentford after losing at home to them in September, the solitary defeat at the Amex.

Chris Hughton and his players learnt from those setbacks to clinically end Reading's outside hopes of automatic promotion and capitalise handsomely on earlier draws for Newcastle and Huddersfield, the only teams realistically capable now of denying them a place in the Premier League next season.

The game plan was carried out to perfection to inflict on Jaap Stam's side their second heaviest defeat since late September.

Fulham thrashed them 5-0 at Craven Cottage in early December, but that was against ten men for almost half the match after Danny Williams was sent-off.

 

Out of possession, Albion pressed high when keeper Ali Al Habsi, the starting point for Stam's passing style, had the ball at his feet.

In their own third they were compact and disciplined, which restricted the patient visitors from picking a route through.

And, when they had the ball themselves, they hit Reading where Hughton knew it would hurt them most, hard and fast on the counter-attack.

This aspect demonstrated another strength of Albion's challenge, different players providing key contributions in different games.

Jamie Murphy, scorer of the killer second goal early in the second half, had his best game for Albion.

Hughton said: "I thought he was immense. You need to stretch the play against Reading when you get the ball.

"You know you are going to have periods where you are going to have to drop deeper from the front. When you gain possession you then need to break fast.

"When we needed someone to carry the ball to get us up the pitch, I thought he did that ever so well. It was a fitting goal for his performance."

Hughton is utilising his squad expertly. In the previous home win, the 4-1 thumping of Burton, Murphy was only on the bench as Anthony Knockaert and Solly March provided two assists apiece.

Murphy earned a recall to the starting line-up after a lively cameo in place of March in the home draw with Ipswich. He played well in the win at Barnsley to keep his place in an unchanged side and capped his man-of-the-match display and goal by setting up the third for Knockaert.

The Argus: The breakthrough was supplied by another player bang in form. Sam Baldock had already curled against a post from a Murphy counter-raid when he stylishly scored his fourth goal in as many games and 11th of the campaign in all competitions (above).

Baldock pulled Bruno's ball over the top of the Reading defence out of the night sky with exquisite control to rifle Albion ahead.

The interval lead was warranted, but it would have evaporated early in the second half had it not been for a remarkable piece of defending by Shane Duffy.

The airborne Irishman somehow kept out a goalbound Williams header with his right boot.

The value of that intervention was emphasised shortly afterwards as Albion countered again via Knockaert and a pinpoint pass from Dale Stephens.

Murphy galloped clear to provide the finishing touch (below) which has often been the missing ingredient of his game for his second goal in the league and fourth in total.

The Argus: Reading were exposed once more on the break by Murphy. He fed Knockaert and the Frenchman picked his spot with his left foot for his 11th goal, a league tally bettered only by Glenn Murray.

Baldock's elevation alongside Tomer Hemed on the ten-mark means Albion have four players in double figures for the first time since promotion to the top flight for the only time in their history in 1978-79.

History will look even more like repeating itself if they also see off Newcastle tomorrow night to establish a four-point lead at the top and, more importantly,a nine-point cushion with a far superior goal difference over FA Cup-occupied Huddersfield in third.

They would have bitten your hand off to be in that position with 12 games to go back in late August, when they were beaten at Newcastle and then by Brentford to drop to 13th.

Another clean sheet, the 17th, means they now have the best defensive record in the division again, conceding one less than Newcastle.

Albion are getting it right where it matters most, in both boxes.