After giving one of the finest centre-forward displays seen at The Hawthorns for many seasons, John Hartson was quick to praise the wing commanders who gave him the ammunition for the aerial bombardment and ground offensive that over-powered Hull City.

While it was Hartson who claimed the plaudits with his two-goal debut, and deservedly so for the peerless way he led the West Bromwich Albion line, just as he had all afternoon he was quick to deflect something into the path of Jonathan Greening and Zoltan Gera.

The wide midfielders, Greening on the left and Gera on the right, dominated the opening half-hour to such an extent that Albion could, nay should, have scored on at least five occasions and wrapped up a comfortable home win before half-time.

In fact had either man shown as much accuracy in front of goal as they had in delivering a string of perfectly-weighted crosses, that might have been the case.

And even though, more than any of their team mates', their second-half performances were at odds with what had gone before, their early contributions should not be ignored.

Hartson was positively salivating at the prospect of playing an entire season with such a bountiful supply line: "They can be very big for us," the Wales international said.

"If they keep putting balls like that in the box for us I have no doubt we will get goals. We work on that in training.

"Jonathan Greening and Zoltan Gera have got fantastic ability as wide men, they can come inside or go back outside and you saw that in the first half hour.

"A lot of credit has to go to those boys."

Gera in particular was virtually unplayable. As early as the first minute he toed past three defenders and squared for Nathan Ellington, and then Greening, for the first chance of the afternoon.

More followed. Gera headed straight at the visitors' goalkeeper soon after and then - in the 12th minute - volleyed high with an effort that belied his talent.

For his part Greening hit the post with a header that was deflected by the goal-keeper and then found Hartson whose effort with his head was knocked into the path of Nigel Quashie.

The midfielder should have done better than hit one of the many bodies lying prone in the goalmouth.

"We felt a bit disillusioned at half time because we sat there and thought we had absolutely murdered them but were not in front," Hartson said.

"In the second half we did not really come out and they looked the team that was going to score first. We scored against the run of play, hung on and then got the second. Two-nil looks a bit more comfortable than what it was."