'Fantastic' West Bromwich Albion tame Wolves to earn Sam Allardyce first win as Baggies manager

Two penalties from Pereira earns visitors victory in see-saw Black Country derby

Matheus Pereira scores West Bromwich Albion's opening goal from the penalty spot during their 3-2 victory at Wolves on Sunday, January 16. AP

Referee Michael Oliver awards West Bromwich Albion their first penalty after Callum Robinson is fouled by Wolves defender Willy Boly. Getty

Wolves defender Conor Coady fouls Callum Robinson to give West Brom another penalty

West Brom's Matheus Pereira scores their third goal from the penalty spot. Reuters

Matheus Pereira celebrates with teammate Callum Robinson after scoring the Baggies' third. Getty

West Brom manager Sam Allardyce. AFP

West Bromwich Albion players celebrate after the final whistle. PA

West Brom's Semi Ajayi makes it 2-2 at Molineux. AFP

Semi Ajayi celebrates scoring for West Brom. AFP

Wolves' Fabio Silva, center, fires past West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper David Button to make the score 1-1. AP

Wolves' Willy Boly, centre, celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's second goal. AFP

Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo. AFP

West Bromwich Albion recorded their first win under Sam Allardyce as they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-2 in a see-saw Black Country derby in the Premier League on Saturday, with Matheus Pereira scoring twice from the spot.

West Brom opened the scoring when centre back Willy Boly, back from injury, fouled Callum Robinson in the seventh minute on the edge of the box, and Pereira stepped up to convert the penalty, sending Wolves keeper Rui Patricio the wrong way.

Boly made amends towards the end of the first half when his back-heeled pass in the box freed up Fabio Silva, who side-footed the ball past David Button for the 18-year-old's first goal at home.

Minutes later, Boly made it 2-1 when the ball fell to him during a corner kick, leaving Button no chance to make a save as the defender scored from six yards out.

West Brom turned things around with two quick-fire goals after the restart, the first from a long throw-in when Kyle Bartley's flicked header allowed Semi Ajayi to loop his header past Patricio.

The visitors sealed the win when Robinson won another penalty after drawing a foul from defender Conor Coady, and Pereira scored from the spot again.

"The only two disappointing moments for me were the two quick goals we conceded when we didn't look like we were going to concede," said Allardyce.

"Defending set-plays has been one of our few strengths this season and we conceded two today.

"Overall, it was a fantastic victory. It was the amount of chances we created which pleased me most. I haven't seen us create that many chances.

"A win was very important at this moment in time. The attitude, work-rate and determination of the players, that's brought us a big, big victory."

Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo said: "Disappointing, frustrated with the way we played and the result. The beginning of the second half, we started very poorly.

"Two penalties and a throw-in [were West Brom's goals]. We knew we required better defending. We must rectify it and do better."