Carlos Corberan highlighted West Brom’s defensive resilience after fifth-placed West Brom secured a 1-1 draw at fellow promotion chasers Hull.

The Baggies looked up against it after 35 minutes when Fabio Carvalho scored an elite goal from distance that swerved into the top-left corner.

But Corberan’s men responded manfully and equalised after 43 minutes after Darnell Furlong’s header off Jed Wallace’s corner looped over Ryan Allsop.

Corberan said: “A point was the fair result for what both teams created on the pitch.

“We both had similar types of chances and a similar number of chances.

“When you don’t win the game, it’s important not to lose.

“I think that the quality of players Hull has right now made it difficult for us and we needed to concentrate in defence to get something.

“Our defence was key to getting something out of the game, but we need to improve in two key parts: don’t concede possession and create chances.”

Sixth-placed Hull had won their last three games and would have moved above West Brom in the table with victory.

But, perhaps surprisingly, the visitors were quicker into their stride and struck the crossbar after 20 minutes through Jed Wallace.

Carvalho’s dipping opener, which did goalkeeper Alex Palmer for pace and zip, therefore came as a shock to Corberan.

But the Baggies retained a healthy tempo before the restart and equalised when Furlong evaded his marker and powerfully headed home.

Both sides struck a post after the restart, but Corberan conceded that a draw was a fair result.

He said: “We tried to be aggressive and to stop them playing from the back and we did that well.

“We had some good possibilities that could have given us something else (more goals), but they had a big chance in the second half, too.

“It was important not to lose, but it was also important that the players gave everything.

“They have a lot of quality players, and Carvalho showed the danger that he has.

“In open play we were fantastic, but we still need to increase our levels of concentration.

“We are going to work even harder, keep improving and increasing the details.

“This year the competition for the play-off positions is going to be very tight. I think there are four very strong teams that have made a gap, but the key for me is to keep going and to keep improving.”

Counterpart Liam Rosenior was unhappy by the manner in which West Brom scored and challenged his players to become more streetwise in key moments.

He said: “I just want to win every game that we play, but if you can’t win, don’t lose – it doesn’t matter at what stage of the season.

“We put ourselves in a strong position against a really organised team, but these games are about fine margins.

“We are a young team but with two minutes before half-time we should have kicked the ball out into touch – and then we conceded a corner.

“That period between Fabio’s goal and their goal, we were in control of the game, but in football it is about managing moments and we didn’t do that, which was frustrating.

“We just need to learn from the mistakes, but I can’t fault players in terms of engagement, energy levels and commitment.

“If that continues, I think we’re in a really strong position.”

Rosenior added: “I love the expectation, but we have to remember where we came from.

“It’s a process, and we’re not going to get it right every week.

“We just need to keep moving in the right direction and stay calm.

“We’re in are really good spot. We need to stay consistent, stay calm and ignore the noise.

“We’ll keep playing the way we believe – this could be a really good point for us.”

West Brom remain one place above Hull in the Sky Bet Championship play-offs following their disciplined 1-1 draw at the MKM Stadium.

Liam Rosenior’s in-form side had looked on course to move up to fifth in the table when Fabio Carvalho scored a lovely swerving goal from distance after 35 minutes.

But the visitors, who are next week expected to be taken over by Floridian businessman Shilen Patel, deservedly equalised before the break through Darnell Furlong’s downwards header.

Neither side had the artillery to force a winner – though Rosenior and West Brom manager Carlos Corberan might both be happy with a point as both sides struck a post late on.

A subdued start, during which both teams failed to find their offensive rhythm, saw West Brom perhaps looking the slightly more controlled side but continually giving away possession in promising areas of the pitch.

That was until the 20th minute when Tom Fellows hared down Hull’s right channel before sending a low cross towards Jed Wallace. His instinctive strike hit the crossbar, with Alex Mowatt’s attempt from the rebound pawed to safety by goalkeeper Ryan Allsop.

Hull, who had won their last three games, finally stepped up a gear four minutes later.

Anass Zaroury cut inside from the left and let rip with a fierce long-range hit that was well stopped by goalkeeper Alex Palmer.

Carvalho was similarly positioned for the opening goal, but the Liverpool loan signing’s dipping strike was far more emphatic. Palmer might have done better at his near post, but West Brom were also guilty of failing to react to Zaroury’s quick corner.

Baggies fans might have feared the worst as their side had not won when conceding first in the Championship this season.

But hope soon reasserted itself in the away end when Furlong equalised after 43 minutes.

Jaden Philogene was too slow to adjust to the zip of Wallace’s corner, with Furlong’s header thumping into the turf, over Allsop’s head and into the left corner.

The start to the second half mirrored that of the first, with neither Hull nor West Brom doing enough to force to the issue.

Rosenior’s men saw more of the ball as the game wore on but well-drilled opponents were rarely flustered until Philogene slinked into a central position after 79 minutes.

The influential winger’s screwed hit from 18 yards had Palmer beaten, but the ball hit the base of the right post and Carvalho wastefully fired the rebound over.

West Brom also hit the woodwork two minutes later when Adam Reach’s well-directed effort struck the inside of the left post after substitute Regan Slater had given the ball away in an awful area. Mikey Johnston followed up from the right but Allsop saved his scuffed effort with his right boot.

The clast chance disappeared with Albion substitute Andi Weimann’s feeble chip straight at Allsop, ensuring a share of the spoils.

Early goals were once again the issue for Ipswich at Championship rivals West Brom as they were swept aside 2-0.

The Baggies scored early in either half but Town boss Kieran McKenna is not overly focused on that issue and has backed his side to improve their fortunes.

Darnell Furlong headed the hosts in front after just five minutes from Matt Phillips’ corner and Albion doubled their advantage in the 47th minute through a well-worked counter-attack finished neatly by Grady Diangana.

“We’ve analysed the goals and spoken about it with the group,” said McKenna, whose side have now conceded inside the first 10 minutes in five of their last six games and in the 13th minute of the other.

“More so than obsessing about these starts – we’re aware of it but for two years it’s not been an issue until quite recently – but it’s about the set-piece we didn’t defend.

“The nature of the goals and the timing of the goals dictated the context of the game. It was always going to be a difficult game coming here, after an international game and for a 5:30 game, but to concede from the first corner they get makes it really difficult.

“We know West Brom are good at defending leads, we were pretty stable in the first half and comfortable in the game but they’re a hard team to create big chances against.

“We changed a few little things at half-time. We started well for a few minutes but they score from our corner and that set the feel of the whole of the second half.

“Credit to the opponent. Thankfully we have lots of games coming thick and fast and we move on quickly to Wednesday (against Millwall).”

West Brom are mounting a top-six effort of their own and can be a belligerent unit on home soil, having kept five home clean sheets in six, and manager Carlos Corberan considered his team to be deserving of their victory.

“The first thing I’ll tell you is that the result is the consequence of the performance,” Corberan reflected.

“The team deserved the points against a very good opponent, an opponent who have lost once in the competition.

“You have to compete against them at the best level or it won’t be enough. I saw the team play with competitive maturity.

“The key wasn’t even to score quick. If you analyse Ipswich’s results, they were losing 2-0 to Birmingham and drew 2-2. They were losing 1-0 to Huddersfield and they drew the game. They were losing to Swansea early and they won that game – they have a resilience which means conceding goals doesn’t affect them. They aren’t going to change structure or style.”

West Brom inflicted just a second Championship defeat of the season on Ipswich and became the first team to stop the Tractor Boys scoring in a league match as they ran out comfortable 2-0 winners.

Darnell Furlong headed the hosts in front after just five minutes from Matt Phillips’ corner. Albion started the second half quickly, too, and doubled their advantage in the 47th minute through a well-worked counter-attack finished off by Grady Diangana.

It was a night when the Baggies only strengthened their own promotion credentials against Kieran McKenna’s high-fliers.

While fellow pace-setters Leicester returned to winning ways earlier in the day with a straightforward victory over Watford, Ipswich were also motivated by Leeds dropping points at Rotherham on Friday night and the opportunity to extend the gap to the chasing pack.

They were behind, though, within five minutes at The Hawthorns. Jed Wallace’s excellent cross from the right was just out of reach of Brandon Thomas-Asante, but the hosts nodded themselves in front from the following corner. Phillips delivered to the near post and Furlong tore away to meet it before glancing the ball into the far corner.

Albion had conceded just a single goal across their last five home matches before Saturday evening so Ipswich – who had lost just one of their first 16 league outings on their return to the Championship – would have to produce what many of their rivals had failed to.

West Brom, under Carlos Corberan, are mounting a top-six effort of their own and can be a belligerent unit on home soil.

McKenna’s side had few openings in the first half in which the home side were content to allow the visitors to see more of the ball. They were then sucker-punched at the beginning of the second half.

From their own corner, Ipswich were undone. West Brom broke away from deep inside their own half and the front three of Wallace, Thomas-Asante and Diangana combined. Thomas-Asante slipped Diangana in, inside the area, and he applied the finishing touch.

West Brom really should have killed the game moments later. Wallace was again sent sprinting down the right and he sprung into the penalty area. The Albion captain’s low cross ought to have been tapped in from close range by fellow winger Phillips, but he actually diverted the ball away from goal.

It would not prove costly as West Brom were good value for victory and might have won by more, but what they did produce was enough to send them up to fifth.