West Brom came from behind to find a 1-1 draw at home to rivals Wolves, but one point turned them down. Mbaye Diagne’s equalizer will probably not be enough to save Sam Allardyce’s side
Mbaye Diagne’s goal in the second half canceled Fabio Silva‘s luck in the first half. But a draw meant Sam Allardyce‘s side had 10 points from safety with four games to go.
The Wolves had a lot of football throughout the season. However, their weakness was evident as Nuno Espirito Santo‘s form failed to withstand West Brom’s pressure over time.
As the rain fell on the ground, it took both teams a while to get into any rhythm. But it was the team Wolves who got the first chance when Romain Saiss headed straight for Sam Johnstone.
The away side was in charge of most of the first half, with Nelson Semedo forcing a much better save. Then the Baggies goalkeeper in the first hour before Vitinha tried his luck.
West Brom while coming closer to the breakthrough. It was late in the half when a short corner found its way to Diagne at the far post. However, he could only divert across the goal rather than into the net.
It would prove costly in a few minutes when the Wolves lead in humorous situations on the other side, after a playful game that features Owen Otasowie and Vitinha.
Kyle Bartley looked like he was going to retire, but his effort went down to Silva. He skipped Johnstone into the Albion net. Much to the delight of the young striker who was on wheels to celebrate.
The Portuguese struggled to close the gap left by Raul Jimenez. But this was his second goal against the Wolves’ biggest rivals, furthermore, in addition to justifying his return to the first team.
The only change during the break was the senior, Mike Dean, in charge of the referee for the second half after Paul Tierney’s injury. But there was some momentum in the home team.
West Brom threw everything to the Wolves.
West Brom threw everything to the Wolves early in the second half. With goalkeeper Rui Patricio making two great assists where the equalizer seemed inevitable.
First of all, the impressive Matheus Pereira had slipped the ball to Conor Townsend, only for the defender to shoot a goal very close to Patricio on the angle.
After that, good work done by substitute Matty Phillips found Sam Gallagher in space just a short distance away. So the midfielder could see his effort was over.
The goal finally came just an hour later when Diagne was left unmarked in the center of the goal to head home calmly from Townsend’s left-wing castle.
With both teams chasing the winning goal, it made for an open finale as the rain descended on the Hawthorns pit-cooked. But neither side had the quality to create another clear chance later.
The result means West Brom got the best of the Black Country game of the season, having won at Molineux in January. But the subsequent rematch of the game now seems unlikely.
