Kevin Phillips reckons Albion can strike a decisive blow in the great Black Country derby battle by grabbing the first goal tomorrow night.

The Baggies head into the second leg showdown at The Hawthorns with the advantage of a narrow 3-2 lead following victory at Molineux.

And Phillips, who scored twice on Sunday to continue his terrific record in local derbies, believes the side who scores first tomorrow can wrestle the advantage.

“The first goal is going to be massively important,” said Phillips. “If it goes their way it’s game on. If we get it, it will be a big, big bonus for us.

“It’s going to be a tough match. They’re going to come and give it their all.

“They played extremely well in the first-half on Sunday and I’m sure they’ll come with that in mind. But I thought we did really well in the second-half and stopped them from playing. It’s still all to play for.”

If Albion open the scoring it will be their 100th goal of the season, but Phillips admits the milestone will mean nothing if Albion don’t get to Wembley.

“I’ll let anyone score on Wednesday as long as we win,” said Phillips. “I don’t think we’ll be approaching the game with that in mind.

“But it’s always nice to reach little landmarks. I’m sure there will be goals and hopefully in our favour.”

The 33-year-old hitman was hugely impressed with the atmosphere Wolves fans generated on Sunday and is convinced the Baggies faithful now have a key role to play in helping Albion over the finishing line.

“I’m sure our fans will play their part on Wednesday,” said Phillips.

“I thought the Wolves supporters were tremendous and the atmosphere was unbelievable – and our support was great. I think tomorrow is going to be a classic.

“The reward at the end of it is massive and, being a local derby, it’s going to be passionate. Hopefully we can come out on top.

“We can’t talk about Wembley yet. We can only do that on Wednesday if we do the job. Wolves might think we think we’re already there but that’s not the case.

“We’re all professional and have enough old heads in that team to know it will be extremely tough.”