Carlos Corberán believes small tactical changes at the start of the second half helped Albion break through QPR’s stubborn defensive shape on Tuesday night.
The Baggies and the R’s went in goalless at the break, but Grady Diangana’s dancing feet led to the hosts winning a penalty which was converted by Brandon Thomas-Asante.
Diangana then profited from similar footwork from Nathaniel Chalobah, who laid the ball on a plate for the winger to side-foot home a second not long after Thomas-Asante’s spot-kick.
And the boss was pleased to see his players find “the best solution” to the challenges the Londoners posed.
Carlos said: “It was very important tonight to attack without the possibility of being counter-attacked.
“I understand that sometimes it looks like we aren’t giving enough speed and energy to the game, but to break one structure which has ten players in is not easy.
“It’s not easy to unbalance the structure and create the chances we want to create.
“We tried in lots of different ways and I think we found the best solution in the second half, with Grady on the right and Matty Phillips on the left.
“We used the one-v-one situations very well and we managed to unbalance QPR from the sides. In these types of games you need to have a lot of maturity. You have to attack while making sure you don’t suffer counter-attacks at the other end.
“My message to the players at half-time wasn’t just to remain patient, but to value the maturity of their performance.
“The small details helped. We made more runs in behind the defenders. We stretched the line and created advantages which helped us create space outside.
“When the ball went out into wide areas, we looked strong and we used those situations well.
“It was important to score the first goal and it gave us the feeling of starting to dominate the game.
“We had a better feeling at the start of the second half and I think the players had a feeling they would find the way through before the goal came.
“It’s always important for attacking players to score. It’s one of their responsibilities. We want to keep helping Brandon Thomas-Asante grow and Grady Diangana had a very good game. He was key creating the penalty and then added a second goal.”
