Only twice have the Baggies opened a 21st century second tier campaign with a victory and Friday evening’s game at Bournemouth is only the second time they have opened with a draw. Robbie di Matteo’s promotion season started with a 1-1 draw with eventual champions, Newcastle United, at the Hawthorns when Shelton Martis’s first half opener was equalised by Damien Duff after the break.
It was Albion’s first Friday fixture since the defeat at Huddersfield Town in July 2020 that looked to have done serious damage to their promotion hopes. That game also saw Dara O’Shea’s previous goal for Albion until he scored the first equaliser at the Vitality Stadium.
The last time that the Baggies drew their opening fixture of a season was in 2014 when Alan Irvine’s first match at the Hawthorns Helm ended all square. The result was also 2-2 when Sunderland were the visitors to the Hawthorns – Saido Berahino grabbed a brace, including one from from the spot, between goals from Lee Cattermole and Seb Larsson for the Black Cats.
| Home | Away | Season End | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Posn* | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Posn | Pts | |
| 2000/2001 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20th | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6th | 74 |
| 2001/2002 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 17th | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2nd | 89 |
| 2003/2004 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 23rd | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2nd | 86 |
| 2006/2007 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3rd | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4th | 76 |
| 2007/2008 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 18th | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1st | 81 |
| 2009/2010 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 15th | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2nd | 91 |
| 2018/2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 22nd | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4th | 80 |
| 2019/2020 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6th | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2nd | 83 |
| 2021/2022 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6th | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ||
| * Positions are recorded as Albion’s position in the table after all fixtures for that day have been completed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Results
| 2000/2001 | 12/08/2000 | Nottingham Forest (A) | L | 0-1 | |
| 2001/2002 | 11/08/2001 | Walsall (A) | L | 1-2 | Clement |
| 2003/2004 | 09/08/2003 | Walsall (A) | L | 1-4 | Koumas |
| 2006/2007 | 05/08/2006 | Hull City (H) | W | 2-0 | Hartson (2) |
| 2007/2008 | 11/08/2007 | Burnley (A) | L | 1-2 | Phillips |
| 2009/2010 | 08/08/2009 | Newcastle United (H) | D | 1-1 | Martis |
| 2018/2019 | 04/08/2018 | Bolton Wanderers (H) | L | 1-2 | Barnes |
| 2019/2020 | 03/08/2019 | Nottingham Forest (A) | W | 2-1 | Edwards, Phillips |
| 2021/2022 | 06/08/2021 | AFC Bournemouth (A) | D | 2-2 | O’Shea, Robinson |
Next Matches
| 2000/2001 | 19/08/2000 | Bolton Wanderers (H) | L | 0-2 | |
| 2001/2002 | 18/08/2001 | Grimsby Town (H) | L | 0-1 | |
| 2003/2004 | 16/08/2003 | Burnley (H) | W | 4-1 | Šakiri, Hulse, Hughes (2) |
| 2006/2007 | 08/08/2006 | Cardiff City (A) | D | 1-1 | Gera |
| 2007/2008 | 18/08/2007 | Preston North End (H) | W | 2-0 | Phillips, Miller |
| 2009/2010 | 15/08/2009 | Nottingham Forest (A) | W | 1-0 | Cohen (o.g.) |
| 2018/2019 | 07/08/2018 | Nottingham Forest (A) | D | 1-1 | Phillips |
| 2019/2020 | 10/08/2019 | Millwall (H) | D | 1-1 | Bartley |
| 2021/2022 | 14/08/2021 | Luton Town (H) |
If you cannot see the tables, click here.
