George Campbell scored the only goal as West Bromwich Albion edged past Bristol City and clinched a second consecutive victory in their bid to secure their Championship status.

Campbell headed home from a corner in the first half, with what proved to be the only goal of the afternoon at Ashton Gate, as Albion climbed four points clear of the relegation zone having secured their first away win in the league since October.

With Oxford United and Portsmouth both being beaten elsewhere, and Leicester City and Blackburn Rovers failing to win, this could prove to be a significant afternoon in the Baggies' season as they seek to avoid the drop into League One.

For depleted Bristol City, who are having to cope without a host of defensive personnel, it is now just one win in eight games after this latest underwhelming result and home supporters voiced their dissatisfaction before the end.

West Brom threatened to break the deadlock in the opening five minutes. Josh Maja was the recipient when Ross McCrorie surrendered possession in his own half but, having given Jason Knight the slip, the forward did not manage to get a clean strike away under pressure from Adam Randell.

The Baggies did, though, open the scoring inside half an hour when Campbell rose highest to meet Callum Styles' corner and powered home his fourth goal of the Championship season, despite the efforts of Robins captain Knight on the line.

Bristol City struggled to pose many questions of Albion's back line in the first half and, in fact, the visitors might have doubled their advantage before the break when Jayson Molumby fired a low drive just wide of Radek Vitek's post when a long throw-in was only half cleared.

Robins boss Gerhard Struber, clearly bemused by his side's first-half showing, made a triple substitution at half-time in the hope of gathering some momentum and introduced Sinclair Armstrong, Max Bird and Cameron Pring.

They carved out the first notable opportunity of the second period, too, when Bird and Emil Riis combined to create a chance for McCrorie, who lost the attentions of Styles but whose stinging drive was beaten away by Josh Griffiths in the visiting goal.

West Brom responded to the home side's initial improvement by fashioning more openings of their own; Crystal Palace loanee Danny Imray forced a decent save, when shooting from distance, from Vitek, who then afforded Albion another chance with a poor pass out from the back and he had to deny Isaac Price's goal-bound effort.

Still, while the scoreline remained precarious, Bristol City remained very much in the game. When Armstrong's low cross evaded fellow substitute Delano Burgzorg, Griffiths was called into action to prevent Styles, his own team-mate, from turning the ball into his own net.

Albion saw the closing stages out in relative comfort, meaning they have now won two successive league matches for the first time since the opening weekends of the season.

The play-offs for Bristol City - at one stage very much a realistic target - would now appear to be out of reach.

West Brom interim head coach James Morrison told BBC WM...

"I thought it was a top away performance and it had a bit of everything. There was the fight and determination I keep talking about, but when we were under pressure we dealt with it. When we attacked, we got the opportunities. I'd have liked us to have put the game to bed, but we've seen it out.

"Everyone today was an 8/10 and that's what you need when you're away from home. Hopefully this away form continues.

"In the back of my mind, it's only one part done now. They can have a nice couple of days off, but when they come back in, they've got to be ready to work and be ready to fight until the end.

"I keep reminding them about that. From now until the end of the season there'll be ups and downs, as there always is in a relegation battle. It's about how we deal with that. It's a challenge we're looking forward to."

Bristol City boss Gerhard Struber told BBC Radio Bristol:

"Really difficult [to watch]. How we move in this game, the energy and willingness which we normally have on a much higher level... I missed this today. It's a really disappointing moment and a big frustration for everyone.

"We knew that they play in a low block and that they'd bring the tempo, but in the end this cannot influence us at this level. I could speak everything that we missed today.

"The second half was maybe a little bit better, but in the end we did not create the chances which we should be at home.

"When you do not have the intensity which is necessary for a Championship game, then there is a consequence. I missed the sharpness in the brain and hopefully the international break helps us to find a little bit of time to clean up everything and then train at a level which means we bounce back for this final phase."