15-02-2020, 09:07 PM
WBA Match Report...
Albion suffered late disappointment as Nottingham Forest twice came from behind to draw 2-2 in a heated Sky Bet Championship battle at The Hawthorns.
Callum Robinson’s first strike in blue-and-white stripes preceded own goals for either side before Matty Cash claimed the visitors a point.
Bilić kept with the same starting XI that served him so well at Millwall and Reading earlier in the week, with his opposite number Sabri Lamouchi opting to make six changes following Forest’s home defeat by Charlton on Tuesday.
The hosts could and should have taken an early lead in blustery conditions at The Hawthorns. Yuri Ribeiro ran into space down the left before finding Lewis Grabban unmarked in the centre - but Forest’s leading scorer inexplicably headed wide from six yards.
Callum Robinson almost had his first Albion goal on 13 minutes. The on-loan winger fluffed his lines from Jake Livermore’s low cross and saw his right-foot effort drag wide of the left upright.
What began as fascinating turned feisty midway through the first half with both sides exchanging heavy challenges as referee Keith Stroud did his best to keep an already-simmering pot of tension off the boil.
Albion continued to dominate possession but the well-organised visitors limited the Baggies to set-pieces.
First Dara O’Shea saw a goal-bound header blocked on the line before Kyle Bartley nodded over from Krovinović’s outswinging corner.
But, just as the atmosphere inside The Hawthorns reached fever-pitch, Albion had their chance eight minutes before the interval.
Pereira pounced on a lack of concentration to dispossess Samba Sow and play in Robinson who provided a decisive 15-yard strike to beat Brice Samba and net his first Baggies goal.
Tiago Silva fired a 42nd-minute volley just over but Forest were level on the stroke of half-time.
Albion failed to stop a Sammy Ameobi cross making it’s way in from the left and Kyle Bartley, who knew Grabban was lurking behind him, saw his forced attempt to clear find the net from close range.
Bilić’s men began the second half brightly when Krovinović forced a good save from Samba with a well-struck 25-yard effort just 60 seconds after the restart.
Albion went close once more on the hour-mark with Pereira’s volley, from a clever Krovinović corner, blocked by Ameobi in the six-yard box.
Livermore tested Samba with a fierce volley on 63 but the Baggies could not make their dominance pay - or could they?
The never-say-die skipper was again the instigator two minutes later. Tobias Figueiredo did his best to clear from Livermore’s low cross but the second own-goal of the game put Albion in front.
The Baggies were not done yet and were it not for the excellence of Samba between the sticks, Albion might have made it more.
Sawyers’ 86th-minute effort proved too hot to handle for the Congolese stopper who also made a breathtaking save to keep out Robinson moments later.
But the game was far from over. Matty Cash fired home a fierce right-foot shot to level the scores in stoppage time.
Not content with a point it was the Baggies who pushed for a winner. And they thought they’d got it when Robinson volleyed in from close range following a goalmouth scramble - but Bartley was deemed to be in an offside position when the ball crossed the line.
And so it was that the two sides were forced to share the spoils.
ALBION: Johnstone, O’Shea, Ajayi, Bartley, Townsend; Livermore, Sawyers; Pereira (Phillips 72), Krovinović (Harper 90), Robinson; Robson-Kanu (Grosicki 84).
Subs: Bond; Furlong, Austin, Hegazi.
Albion suffered late disappointment as Nottingham Forest twice came from behind to draw 2-2 in a heated Sky Bet Championship battle at The Hawthorns.
Callum Robinson’s first strike in blue-and-white stripes preceded own goals for either side before Matty Cash claimed the visitors a point.
Bilić kept with the same starting XI that served him so well at Millwall and Reading earlier in the week, with his opposite number Sabri Lamouchi opting to make six changes following Forest’s home defeat by Charlton on Tuesday.
The hosts could and should have taken an early lead in blustery conditions at The Hawthorns. Yuri Ribeiro ran into space down the left before finding Lewis Grabban unmarked in the centre - but Forest’s leading scorer inexplicably headed wide from six yards.
Callum Robinson almost had his first Albion goal on 13 minutes. The on-loan winger fluffed his lines from Jake Livermore’s low cross and saw his right-foot effort drag wide of the left upright.
What began as fascinating turned feisty midway through the first half with both sides exchanging heavy challenges as referee Keith Stroud did his best to keep an already-simmering pot of tension off the boil.
Albion continued to dominate possession but the well-organised visitors limited the Baggies to set-pieces.
First Dara O’Shea saw a goal-bound header blocked on the line before Kyle Bartley nodded over from Krovinović’s outswinging corner.
But, just as the atmosphere inside The Hawthorns reached fever-pitch, Albion had their chance eight minutes before the interval.
Pereira pounced on a lack of concentration to dispossess Samba Sow and play in Robinson who provided a decisive 15-yard strike to beat Brice Samba and net his first Baggies goal.
Tiago Silva fired a 42nd-minute volley just over but Forest were level on the stroke of half-time.
Albion failed to stop a Sammy Ameobi cross making it’s way in from the left and Kyle Bartley, who knew Grabban was lurking behind him, saw his forced attempt to clear find the net from close range.
Bilić’s men began the second half brightly when Krovinović forced a good save from Samba with a well-struck 25-yard effort just 60 seconds after the restart.
Albion went close once more on the hour-mark with Pereira’s volley, from a clever Krovinović corner, blocked by Ameobi in the six-yard box.
Livermore tested Samba with a fierce volley on 63 but the Baggies could not make their dominance pay - or could they?
The never-say-die skipper was again the instigator two minutes later. Tobias Figueiredo did his best to clear from Livermore’s low cross but the second own-goal of the game put Albion in front.
The Baggies were not done yet and were it not for the excellence of Samba between the sticks, Albion might have made it more.
Sawyers’ 86th-minute effort proved too hot to handle for the Congolese stopper who also made a breathtaking save to keep out Robinson moments later.
But the game was far from over. Matty Cash fired home a fierce right-foot shot to level the scores in stoppage time.
Not content with a point it was the Baggies who pushed for a winner. And they thought they’d got it when Robinson volleyed in from close range following a goalmouth scramble - but Bartley was deemed to be in an offside position when the ball crossed the line.
And so it was that the two sides were forced to share the spoils.
ALBION: Johnstone, O’Shea, Ajayi, Bartley, Townsend; Livermore, Sawyers; Pereira (Phillips 72), Krovinović (Harper 90), Robinson; Robson-Kanu (Grosicki 84).
Subs: Bond; Furlong, Austin, Hegazi.