Daniele Dichio gave West Brom their first win in 10 Premiership games as they beat a poor Middlesbrough side at the Hawthorns.

The substitute recently looked to be on his way out at the Hawthorns but his 72nd-minute goal lifted the Baggies out of the bottom three.

It was no more than they deserved against a lacklustre Boro outfit who have now lost four Premiership away games on the trot.

West Brom looked edgy at the start but soon found their composure and began to threaten the visitors' goal.

Left wing-back Neil Clement - renowned for his powerful shooting - was heavily involved in his side's threat on the Boro goal.

He was just the wrong side of the bar with a 30-yard effort after 10 minutes when Boro failed to clear their lines before seeing keeper Mark Schwarzer parry a well-struck free-kick.

Clement headed over the bar soon after and saw another long range shot go wide.

Middlesbrough have struggled on their recent travels and Andy Johnson should have punished their sluggishness.

But he failed to connect properly and keeper Schwarzer gathered before denying the midfielder again after 35 minutes.

Boro nearly took the lead after the re-start when Sean Gregan almost deflected a ball into his own net.

West Brom's lack of quality in front of goal seemed set to continue until former Sunderland forward Dichio struck.

He had come on for the ineffective Lee Hughes after 58 minutes and scored with a close range shot.

Joseph Desire-Job hit the bar with a header for Boro in the 82nd minute and was carried after the resulting clash of heads with defender Darren Moore.

Szilard Nemeth was also denied by the woodwork late on, and the final whistle came as a relief to Gary Megson's players.

Middlesbrough: Schwarzer, Parnaby (Cooper 61), Ehiogu, Southgate, Vidmar, Geremi, Boateng, Greening, Job, Boksic (Nemeth 76), Maccarone (Whelan 74). Subs Not Used: Jones, Wilkshire.

Attendance: 27,029.

Referee: P Durkin (Dorset).