Cox's pays tribute to mate Mattock

Albion striker Simon Cox has paid tribute to room-mate Joe Mattock for putting his looming court case to one side to keep the Baggies in the FA Cup.

The teenage full-back is due at crown court on Thursday to face assault charges but bagged his first Albion goal on Saturday with three minutes to go at Reading, to secure a fifth-round replay with a 2-2 draw.

Cox said: "I'm pleased for Joe. He's my room-mate as well and it's pleasing for him because of what he's been through. He came struck it well. The goalkeeper had no chance with it.

"He's been professional and he can't be anything less. He comes in every day and is the same guy as when he first came here. He applies himself well every day and as he showed after he scored his goal he was well happy.

"It's been no distraction to him at all."

Mattock is accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice and four allegations of assault outside a nightclub in his hometown of Leicester on August 30, due to appear at Leicester Crown Court on Thursday.

Cox and Mattock will both travel with the Baggies squad to Cardiff tomorrow, despite a bruising encounter with the Royals at the Madejski Stadium.

The striker, who laid on Mattock's 87th-minute equaliser on Saturday, insisted that promotion remains Albion's top priority despite the looming replay with Reading next Wednesday.

He said: "We would have liked to have gone through but we now have another game to get into the quarter-finals and maybe a potential trip to Wembley. Number one priority is obviously promotion, as it gets us back into the Premier League, but we want to do well in the FA Cup.

"We're still in the hat, which is the pleasing thing. There was desire from the boys, we showed a never-say-die attitude and managed to get the goal we deserved in the end.

"We were hoping for a couple of days off but now we have to play the replay."