West Bromwich Albion badge / crest on a corner flag on the pitch at The Hawthorns, the home stadium of West Bromwich Albion
West Brom secured a point in the Championship after a scoreless draw with Bristol City at Ashton Gate thanks to Alex Palmer’s outstanding late save on Harry Cornick.
In the 87th minute, the Robins substitute appeared destined to score when put up in a central position barely 10 yards out, but Palmer spread himself and extended a leg to make an important stop.
Kal Naismith’s goal-saving block on replacement Josh Maja in stoppage time prevented Albion from winning it themselves, and a draw was a just result for a thrilling game overall.
City played quick, attacking football down both wings for the whole of the first half; all it lacked was a decisive goal.
After being stopped by a goal-saving tackle from Cedric Kipre, firing just wide, then having another attempt blocked for a corner, Nahki Wells may have had a hat-trick inside of 15 minutes.
Prior to Sam Bell’s low shot into the side-netting after 33 minutes, Jason Knight missed from 20 yards and Naismith missed from just beyond the area.
Two minutes later, Albion custodian Palmer botched a kick on the right side of the penalty box, and Mark Sykes snuck in behind to score with a low shot from a tight angle off the far post.
It didn’t appear to be City’s day. However, they managed to escape shortly after when Brandon Thomas-Asante, who had given Albion their lone chance in the first half, broke clean through the centre but was robbed by Zak Vyner’s great recovery challenge as he prepared to fire.
Wells had a good opportunity to score in the 43rd minute but fired poorly at Palmer from a good position. Nevertheless, City fans warmly applauded them as they departed the stadium.
Albion were quicker at the start of the second half as they played with their home crowd in mind, but they were unable to force a save from Max O’Leary.
Still, City were threatening, and Palmer deflected Sykes’ header in the 60th minute. But after Okay Yokuslu’s header was deflected for a corner at the opposite end, it became more of a contest.
As the game neared its conclusion, Albion began to appear the more likely winner. Vyner performed brilliantly to stop a shot from Maja, while Erik Pieters successfully missed his attempt.
When John Swift’s header hit the crossbar in the 82nd minute, the visitors were thwarted by the woodwork. Conor Townsend, who had the goal at his disposal, missed with a shot a few seconds later.
Despite appearing to be worn out, City came close to winning thanks to Cornick’s opportunity and Joe Williams’ just missed shot minutes later.
Even though Naismith’s push on Maja resulted in 2,500 travelling supporters calling for a penalty, it seemed like he won the ball legitimately for Albion.
