Clarke applauds keeper's display

Steve Clarke has hailed the performance of goalkeeper Ben Foster after his outstanding display in West Brom's 1-1 draw at Aston Villa.

The former England stopper bounced back from a poor midweek showing against Liverpool in the Capital One Cup with several fine saves in a game where the Baggies led through Shane Long before Darren Bent climbed off the bench to level it up. Clarke had hoped Long's 51st minute effort would be the catalyst to the three points for the Baggies and while grateful to Foster for his heroics, he was slightly frustrated with the final outcome. Clarke said: "Having been in that position I'm a little bit disappointed we didn't go on and win it. Obviously, in an away game like this you probably need the second goal just to alleviate a little bit of the late pressure you know is going to come when the ball is going to be in your box a lot. "But Ben Foster was excellent. I said the other night when he made the mistakes there was nothing to worry about - and he proved that today. He's a top goalkeeper and made one save in the first half off the deflected shot which was unbelievable, fantastic. "You need your goalkeeper to make saves in the Premier League to help you get the points. He's up there with the best of them. Compared to some of the other keepers I've worked with Ben may be a little more unorthodox - but he makes the saves just the same. "I've only known him for 12 weeks but he's been really good for us." Meanwhile, the Albion boss is keeping his fingers crossed that the injuries picked up by Chris Brunt and Billy Jones are not too severe, after both were forced off inside the first-half with hamstring and knee problems respectively.