Jeremy Sarmiento produced a moment of magic to give West Brom a precious 1-0 win at Cardiff.
Sarmiento’s second Albion goal five minutes after the restart lit up a contest that had been largely forgettable until that point and was enough to take West Brom into the top three of the Sky Bet Championship.
The Ecuador winger, on a season-long loan from Brighton, was at the World Cup this time last year and his goal would not have looked out of place at that tournament.
Sarmiento broke down the left before cutting inside Josh Bowler and unleashing a vicious curling 25-yard shot that flew into the far corner of Alex Runarsson’s net.
Although not as spectacular as Alejandro Garnacho’s stunning overhead kick for Manchester United at Everton on Sunday, it will be a chief contender for West Brom’s goal of the season.
Albion’s fifth win in six games moved them above Leeds and Southampton – who both play on Wednesday – and seven points behind second-placed Ipswich.
Victory would have taken Cardiff above Albion, but the Bluebirds were flat throughout as they slipped to a second successive home defeat.
The game quickly settled into a cautious affair with neither side willing to take too many risks.
Cedric Kipre, who spent last season on loan at Cardiff and whose April winner at Rotherham virtually guaranteed the Bluebirds’ survival, was on hand for Albion to block from former team-mate Joe Ralls.
West Brom struggled to make an impact in the final third and were handicapped by the departure of Jed Wallace, who left the action holding his arm and in obvious pain.
Okay Yokuslu fired wildly from 25 yards for the visitors before Sarmiento and Bowler tangled at the other end.
Bowler went down to some half-hearted penalty appeals as Callum Robinson, against his former employers, picked up the loose ball and shot over.
The deadlock was almost broken after 31 minutes when Cardiff were exposed defensively from their own corner.
Albion had a four-on-two situation but Grady Diangana delayed the final pass and the stretching Sarmiento could only trickle his effort against the post.
Bowler, Cardiff’s biggest attacking threat down the left, immediately escaped marker Conor Townsend and shimmied his way past Kipre but Alex Palmer was off his line quickly to smother.
Sarmiento’s sublime strike gave Albion the edge as both sides turned heavily to their bench for the final half-hour.
Yokuslu had excelled in the midfield battle before being withdrawn in the final quarter and Albion should have doubled their advantage 15 minutes from time.
Ryan Wintle sliced Darnell Furlong’s long throw to the far post where the unmarked Brandon Thomas-Asante directed his header over.
Cardiff stirred in the final 10 minutes as Rubin Colwill made a lively impact from the bench, the Wales international having two shots blocked, and Bowler and Manolis Siopis blasted over.
But the night belonged to Carlos Corberan’s Albion and in particular Sarmiento.
Southampton 3-1 West Brom (3-1 agg): Saints set up play-off final with Leeds United
Southampton saw off West Brom 3-1 at St Mary's on Friday to set up a Championship play-off final showdown with Leeds United.
Leeds thumped Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road 24 hours earlier to book their place at Wembley, where Southampton now await on May 26.
The first leg between the Saints and West Brom finished goalless - just like the other semi-final - but the home side's quality told in the end.
Russell Martin's side dominated the first-half possession, with David Brooks going closest to scoring with a shot that hit the outside of the post.
Southampton made the breakthrough via a powerful Will Smallbone finish four minutes into the second half after Gray Diangana lost possession.
Darnell Furlong had a shot helped over by Alex McCarthy, while David Brooks - who assisted the opener - had a strong penalty appeal rejected.
Southampton remained in control, though, and Adam Armstrong scored a second with a shot through Furlong's legs and past Alex Palmer.
Armstrong's second goal arrived from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after Tom Fellows fouled Ryan Manning in the box, rendering Cedric Kipre's late header a mere consolation.
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
Leeds' belief never wavered as Wembley beckons
Ethan Ampadu said Leeds United's players never let their belief waver despite a poor end to their Championship campaign, with a trip to Wembley now coming up.
Leeds will face either Southampton or West Brom in the play-off final on May 26 after thrashing Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road on Thursday.
The Whites endured a miserable end to their campaign, losing 4-0 at Queens Park Rangers before going down at home to Southampton on the final day, as Ipswich Town claimed automatic promotion behind Leicester City.
But after their emphatic defeat of the Canaries, who they drew with 0-0 in the first leg, Ampadu claimed Leeds never lost their way.
"Towards the end of the season there was a lot of talk about how we were playing, how we weren't on the front foot, how we weren't aggressive or clinical," he told Sky Sports.
"But we always had our belief that on our day, when we are firing, we can be hard for anyone to play against.
"When the front four, five, six play like that, they make the job of us defenders a lot easier.
"Whoever we play in the final it's going to be a hard game but to go in like this, to put in a performance like this, we can take momentum and confidence into it.
"The fans were second to none and we enjoyed their support – now we are going to prepare for the big one."
Georginio Rutter scored one and set up another in the rout, and he put the onus on Leeds to replicate the same level at Wembley.
"It's incredible. Today we go to Wembley," he said.
"We played a good game. I'm happy, everybody is happy. One more game and we will see.
"We played very good. 4-0 is a clean sheet. Today, we were mature. It's a very good performance from the team.
"I want to try my best and help the team. If we play like this [at the final], we have a good chance but we have to play like this."
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