West Bromwich Albion 2 - 1 Manchester City

Hughes on the brink

Updated: December 21, 2008, 3:57 PM UK

Roman Bednar's injury-time header earned bottom side West Brom their first win in 11 games and increased the pressure on Manchester City boss Mark Hughes as Albion ground out a 2-1 win.

• Hughes: I need time

Albion fans chanted "You're getting sacked in the morning'' in the direction of Hughes, whose side remain in the relegation zone.

Luke Moore's first goal for the Baggies had given them the lead before City levelled six minutes from time, Scott Carson credited with an own goal after substitute Felipe Caicedo's backheel had struck a defender, the post and the goalkeeper before crossing the line.

But Bednar had the final say by heading home a right-wing centre from Gianni Zuiverloon to cause wild scenes of celebration.

Albion still prop up the table going into the Christmas period and will have to repeat their `Great Escape' act of four years ago to survive.

But time is running out for Hughes with City having now gone six games without a win in all competitions.

Albion boss Tony Mowbray made two changes with Bednar and midfielder Kim Do-Heon coming into the starting line-up in place of winger Chris Brunt and Borja Valero.

The home side suffered a late setback when midfielder Felipe Teixeira was injured during the pre-match warm-up and replaced on the bench by Pele.

Hughes also made two changes from the side beaten at home by Everton last weekend with Robinho (ankle) and the dropped Elano making way for Darius Vassell and Gelson Fernandes.

City were the more threatening in the early stages and Vincent Kompany had the first attempt on target after a slip by Do-Heon, but his low 20-yarder was comfortably dealt with by Scott Carson.

Darius Vassell teed up Shaun Wright-Phillips and his shot contained plenty of power but was deflected off Paul Robinson for a corner.

The home side then enjoyed a spell of pressure and James Morrison was almost played in by Bednar, but his first touch was heavy and his eventual shot was blocked.

Albion came close to breaking the deadlock after 30 minutes after Robinson had made a quick break forward to support the attack.

His pass found Bednar who unleashed a fierce drive from the edge of the box which crashed against the post before coming back and hitting Hart and bouncing to safety.

Bednar again went close when a glancing goal-bound header from a Jonathan Greening corner was cleared by Pablo Zabaleta.

At the other end Carson was well positioned to grasp hold of a rising drive from Fernandes after a determined run by Vassell had created the opportunity.

Bednar was again in the thick of the action in heading a Greening free-kick over the bar but both sides lacked quality and too often the final ball was overhit in the opening 45 minutes.

Carson clung onto a low 25-yard shot from Michael Ball before Robinson became the first player booked after 51 minutes for a lunge at Wright-Phillips.

The visitors were now on top and Zabaleta squared his pass back to Wright-Phillips whose first-time effort contained plenty of power but flew straight at Carson.

City were forced into a change after 56 minutes when Benjani pulled up sharply and was replaced by Felipe Caicedo.

He quickly got involved in the game, forcing Carson to save low away to his right after a powerful run.

Bednar had half a chance after the otherwise impressive Dunne miscontrolled a pass from Richards but he summed up the afternoon by screwing his shot wide.

Mowbray handed a debut to Graham Dorrans after 63 minutes as he replaced Do-Heon.

The Albion fans continued to show their support for Mowbray and after 68 minutes their faith was reward when Moore scored the opener.

Morrison threaded a pass through to the former England Under-21 player who kept his cool before sliding the ball past Hart.

It was his 23rd appearance since moving from Aston Villa in January, initially on loan before completing a £3.5million switch in the summer.

Moore was taken off after 73 minutes and replaced by Craig Beattie, but with six minutes left Caicedo levelled matters with an audacious backheel which took a deflection and struck the post and Carson before crossing the line.

But in injury-time Bednar headed the winner from a Zuiverloon right-wing cross.

Hughes: I need time

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes has been given assurances by club owner Sheikh Mansour and chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak that he will be at the helm to embark on a January spending spree in the transfer market.

City find themselves in the bottom three of the Barclays Premier League going into Christmas after a last-minute goal from Roman Bednar doomed them to a 2-1 reversal at fellow strugglers West Brom.

Hughes' side have now collected just five points from the last nine league games and have failed to win in six matches in all competitions.

But Hughes is adamant he has the backing of Mansour and Al Mubarak ahead of the January transfer window.

The former Wales boss said: "There has been speculation about my future since the new owners came in, so it is not something that is new to me. Am I confident I will be given the money myself to spend? That is the intention. That is my view and I've had assurances from Sheikh Mansour and the chairman.

"They have been very positive. They understand where we are in our development. They are pragmatic people. They understand things will not happen overnight. Some people expect it to but they understand that won't happen.

"Time is something we all need - myself included - but I know the quality of my staff and we will gain results in the future. At the moment we are hurting somewhat because we are in the bottom three of the Premier League which is not something we anticipated.''

Hughes saw his side beaten at the death for the second week running, following the 1-0 home setback against Everton.

He said: "We are disappointed to lose two league games in a row in such a way. We did well against West Brom to come from a goal behind and I thought the game was going to peter out. But at times recently we have been a bit naive and on occasions don't do the fundamental things correctly - and good players will expose that.

"We are working hard to adjust things and we will adjust them in the transfer window. We will bring in quality players to ensure that the club moves forwards in the future. There is no guarantee how many we will bring in but it is clear we do need help. We have to make sure we bring players in who will make an immediate impact.''

West Brom boss Tony Mowbray admitted he was ready to substitute Bednar and settle for trying to preserve a single-goal lead given to them by Luke Moore, his first strike for the club.

But captain Jonathan Greening had to be taken off because he was suffering with double vision, City grabbed an equaliser, and Bednar made the most of his reprieve to convert a cross from Gianni Zuiverloon for the winner.

Mowbray said: "It has been a difficult time for us because the players believe we have played well enough to compete in this league and give ourselves a real chance.

"It is important that supporters believe that as well and we all stick together. We could easily have had three points as well against Portsmouth and Blackburn and yet today things went for us a little bit. We are delighted for Luke Moore. We all know how difficult a time he has had and hopefully he can kick on from here.

"When we were 1-0 up, I was going to try to protect the lead by playing one up front and the intention was to take off Roman. But then Jonathan said he had double vision and was struggling to see so he had to come off instead. Maybe that twist of fate, with Roman scoring the winner in the 92nd minute, is what we need.''