West Bromwich Albion 0 Millwall 0
It was an afternoon of frustration at the Hawthorns as Carlos Corberán’s team failed to make the breakthrough that would have given them a massive boost in their hunt for a play-off berth.
Millwall became the first team to stop Albion scoring at home since Corberán’s first game in charge back in October although the goalless draw meant that the Baggies’ unbeaten home run was extended to twelve games in all competitions.
Gary Rowett’s team came to stop Albion from playing by all means possible and referee, Jeremy Simpson, allowed the visitors to get away with far too much in what was a very poor refereeing display. The home fans were particularly disappointed with a decision not to award a penalty for an apparent foul on Daryl Dike in the final few minutes after the linesman raised his flag for offside despite the final ball having been played by a defender.
However, while the officials’ performance left much to be desired, Millwall probably deserved a point. They were extremely well organised and the hosts didn’t do enough to win the game. One shot on target throughout the entire ninety minutes is simply not good enough from the Albion front line.
Brandon Thomas-Asante started the game and looked lively throughout but the creative players behind him failed to give him any real service. Jed Wallace, one of the most consistent performers for Albion this season, was very poor and it cannot be a coincidence that his two worst displays of the campaign have come in the two matches against his former club. Meanwhile, John Swift had something of an off day while Adam Reach, while busy, failed to really impact the game from an attacking viewpoint.
Corberán did as much as he could to get the goal by bringing Dike on to play alongside BTA in a front two and replacing Reach with Rogić in the hope that the Australian would produce a spark. It didn’t work and the Albion players became increasingly frustrated as the game went on with the referee’s erratic decision-making doing little to help their mood.
A victory would have been a massive boost but, with Blackburn Rovers, Norwich City and Sunderland all failing to win, a point is not necessarily a bad result, particularly given that Millwall had the better of the chances during a dangerous spell in the second half.
However, the margin for error is becoming increasingly small and you feel that Albion need six points from the two games over the Easter weekend starting with a first away win since mid-January at Rotherham on Friday.
