Graphic: backwards going forwards

They never made a sequel to The Great Escape, but you could almost hear a Triumph revving its engine as Roman Bednar rose to head a winning goal during stoppage time that gave West Bromwich Albion the belief that they can wriggle clear of the barbed clutches of relegation from the Barclays Premier League. Geoff Horsfield was warmly welcomed on the pitch at half-time as the club relived the spirit of their last escape, when the forward scored a crucial goal on the final day of the campaign three years ago. The start of that getaway began after salvaging a draw against Manchester City at this stage of the season.

West Brom stayed bottom but climbed to within four points of safety. City’s disorganised, dozy performance was captured perfectly by the central defensive pair of Richard Dunne and Micah Richards, who time and again drifted aimlessly apart. Richards may yet make a transition from right back to the centre with time and coaxing — Dunne would be expected to have the experience and authority to do that, but failed to — but, for now, the England player looks nervous and prone to mistakes.

The pair had already parted to allow Luke Moore a free run to score the opening goal when they were guilty of ball-watching in the second minute of stoppage time. Gianni Zuiverloon swung a deep cross in from the touchline and Bednar made a simple run to meet the ball and loop a header over Joe Hart. Mark Hughes, the City manager, described his team’s defending as naive, but that overlooked the fine work by Abdoulaye Méïté. The defender dribbled from his penalty area, fighting off several challenges, to win the free kick that led to the goal.

Tony Mowbray, perhaps wisely, refused to be drawn into comparisons to the adventure four seasons ago, but with several of the clubs near the bottom winning at the weekend, West Brom could not allow the gap to widen farther. “We have the talent but whether we can score enough goals and wins, time will tell,” the manager said.

Surprisingly, both sides allowed too much space in midfield, but no player was able to exploit it early on. City did not get to grips with West Brom’s change to a more direct style. Jonathan Greening dropped deep to ping diagonal balls from midfield into the space between the full and centre backs. His skilfully swept pass led to the only meaningful chance of the first half when Bednar exchanged passes with Paul Robinson and struck a low shot that bounced off the inside of the post on to Hart’s head and away to safety.

City appeared more composed and stepped up after the break, but they were exposed by slack defending. Graham Dorrans, on as a substitute, cleverly played in James Morrison, whose perfectly weighted pass allowed Moore to slip the ball past the advancing Hart for his first goal for the club. “He has the monkey off his back,” Mowbray said. “Maybe me talking about the transfer window was what he needed.”

Bednar was unfortunate to have a second goal ruled out when Hart bumped into him and West Brom may have rued that decision when City equalised. Mowbray was forced to take off Greening, who had double vision, with his side defending a throw-in near their box. The ball fell for Felipe Caicedo, whose back-heel from eight yards deflected off Chris Brunt and the post to beat Scott Carson.

City pressed on but were undone. “We have to take the mistakes out of our game,” Hughes said. “It is difficult to deal with.” Entering Christmas, City have their lowest points total at this stage since 2000-01, when they were relegated. A sombre statistic.

West Brom (4-4-2): S Carson 5 - G Zuiverloon 6, A Méïté 8, J Olsson 6, P Robinson 6 - J Morrison 7, Kim Do Heon 5, J Greening 7, R Koren 6 - R Bednar 7, L Moore 6. Substitutes: G Dorrans 5 (for Kim, 64min), C Beattie (for Moore, 73), C Brunt (for Greening, 83). Not used: D Kiely, C Hoefkens, L Barnett, Pele. Next: Chelsea (a).

Manchester City (4-4-2): J Hart 5 - P Zabaleta 5, M Richards 4, R Dunne 4, M Ball 5 - S Wright-Phillips 5, V Kompany 4, G Fernandes 5, S Ireland 5 - Benjani Mwaruwari 5, D Vassell 5. Substitute: F Caicedo 5 (for Benjani, 59min). Not used: K Schmeichel, N Onuoha, J Garrido, A Clayton, D Hamann, C Evans. Next: Hull City (h).

Referee: C Foy Attendance: 25,010