Chris Lepkowski destroys 'Embarrassing' Jeremy Sarmiento in West Brom loss v Sunderland

Chris Lepkowski hit out at "embarrassing" West Brom ace Jeremy Sarmiento for diving late on in the 2-1 loss at Sunderland.

The attacking midfielder hit the ground under pressure from Sunderland's Luke O'Nien in the 96th minute of the Championship match at the Stadium of Light.

O'Nien made it clear what he thought of Sarmiento's actions, and former Birmingham Mail reporter Lepkowski was in complete agreement.

"Not a prayer that was a pen at the end. It was a dive," he posted on Twitter [9 December]. "Embarrassing too. Don't wish to see our players do that."

In a follow-up tweet, Lepkowski added: "He had the beating of [O'Nien] too. It so disappointing to see him do that.

"But then given the officials' form it was feasible they might have awarded it."

Silly

You cannot fault Sarmiento for doing his absolute all to help snatch Albion a late leveller, but there is no doubt he went to ground far too easily.

Had the shoe been on the other foot, and a Sunderland player chucked himself to the ground, the travelling fans would have been furious.

On a disappointing day for Carlos Corberan's men, Sarmiento proved one of their biggest threats as he registered a team-high three shots.

However, not one of those was on target, while he also did not register a single key pass [WhoScored].

Sarmiento would have been hailed by supporters had he conned the officials into awarding a late set-piece, but as it is he just looks silly.

Both the Brighton and Hove Albion loanee and his team-mates need to put this setback behind them when West Brom return to action against Rotherham United on Tuesday (12 December).

In other West Brom news, a journalist has responded to a "devastating" blow at The Hawthorns this week.