West Brom manager Tony Mowbray hailed the finishing of Roman Bednar as the Baggies 2-1 win spoiled Paul Sturrock's return to Plymouth.On-loan Hearts striker Bednar got his call-up due to injuries to Ishmael Miller and Kevin Phillips and took his chance superbly with a first-half brace.

Mowbray said: "Roman has had to be patient but has taken the opportunity and got two goals tonight.

"That's what he needed to do, and I have watched him in training and he proved it again tonight. He is a clinical finisher.

"The players all felt we had done well enough to get more goals in the first half, we created the opportunities.

"In the second half we had to defend and we showed a different side of our game and got another win. It's proving easier to score goals and win away from home at the moment.

"It was important that we won again. It's important to keep winning, that's what it is all about."

Sturrock - back for his second spell in the Home Park hot seat - spent the first half taking a seat in the director's box next to Pilgrims chairman Paul Stapleton but was on the touchline for the second half.

He admitted: "We had thoughtful words at half-time and what pleased me most was the players took it on board and acted on what had been said.

"When we squeezed it meant we could steal. We got our foot in and we also got our goal."

Substitute Jermaine Easter rifled home in the 84th minute for Argyle's consolation.

Sturrock added: "As for the first half, we could not get near them.

"I have seen a lot of Championship football this season and if West Bromwich Albion keep playing like that they are going to get promoted, especially with the size of the squad they have got.

"I would think they are nailed-on certainties to go up."

On nine minutes Czech target man Bednar swooped to turn Zoltan Gera's right-wing cross past home goalkeeper Romain Larrieu after a cheeky back-heeled set up by Portuguese forward Filipe Teixeira.

West Brom continued to look for a second goal and it required an off-the-line clearance from Argyle winger Peter Halmosi to keep out Gera's header from Chris Brunt's corner from the right.

Bednar doubled his tally when he headed home Brunt's cross from the left after a brilliant cross-field pass from Gera on 43 minutes.

It was no more than the impressive visitors deserved for their first-half dominance, in which Albion goalkeeper Dean Kiely was tested once, when he palmed away an angled strike from Barry Hayles.

With Sturrock on the touchline in the second half, Argyle upped the ante but could still not find a way through the visitors' defence.

Halmosi came closest, twice forcing good saves from Kiely.

Bednar was denied his hat-trick on 70 minutes as Larrieu was quick to his feet to save the Czech's chip after slipping over on the edge of his area.

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