Albion 1, Wolves 1
Steve McClaren remarked, somewhat ruefully, after Derby's harsh defeat at the Amex that football is about what you do in both boxes.
Albion's chance to follow up that home win with another against another of the teams chasing promotion was about what they did in both boxes. Or rather what they didn't do.
They didn't take their chances, a familiar story this season. And they didn't defend securely once they had scored, again a familiar story.
That, in a nutshell, is why they are still looking a little nervously over their shoulders at the wrong end of the table.
David Stockdale's form between the post continues to fluctuate unpredictably within games, yet alone over the course of the season.
In last week's defeat at Reading he followed a passing error which played a big part in the opening goal with a remarkable triple save.
Against Wolves he gifted an equaliser in-between three fine stops, including a stunner in injury time to save his side from defeat.
Stockdale has made far too many goal-costing lapses in his debut season but you still get the feeling there is a more consistently dependable keeper lurking in there somewhere.
Chris Hughton will probably reach the same conclusion. It is unlikely he will ditch in the summer the £1 million No.1 he inherited, a year into Stockdale's three-year contract, as part of a rebuilding programme to take Albion back to the right end of the table.
The strike force? That is a different matter, the area which must be subject to the greatest change.
It is staggering that Albion, after Wolves' swift equaliser courtesy of Stockdale parrying Ravij van La Parra's cross-turned-shot into his own net at the near post, have now let in 15 of the 46 goals they have conceded in the Championship within ten minutes of scoring themselves.
Not as staggering though as the fact that Bruno, whose angled drive went under the body of former Albion No.1 Tomasz Kuszczak, has scored more league goals than the three centre-forwards available to Hughton put together.
Especially as the Spanish right-back's tally has now hit a mighty three.
Craig Mackail-Smith's one goal in 22 appearances was in August, Chris O'Grady's one in 20 from the penalty spot at Reading.
Leon Best, on loan from Blackburn Rovers after a stint with Derby, has not scored in seven outings and not for any Championship club since April.
There are mitigating circumstances - injuries, a fair proportion of substitute appearances, questionable service - but it is nigh on impossible to mount a challenge with such a goal-shy strike force.
Even Sam Baldock, out for the season with a knee injury after a fruitful spell on the left-wing, has scored only three times in 20 league games since his big money move from Bristol City.
Mackail-Smith, preferred to O'Grady after missing two games with a hamstring strain, spurned two great chances in the opening 20 minutes.
He headed tamely straight at Kuszczak early on when unmarked six yards out from a pinpoint cross by Beram Kayal, impressing again as a midfield driving force. He also skewed wide a right-foot shot from ten yards.
Mackail-Smith's relief was apparent after the break when he tapped in the loose ball from a Joao Teixeira shot fumbled by the unconvincing Kuszczak, only for it to be correctly disallowed by an offside flag.
Hughton said: "All we can do is keep working. We know what he (Mackail-Smith) gives us. He gives us great running ability at the front and he chases and puts defenders under pressure and he gives us a good outlet.
"But at the moment he is finding it difficult to add the goals to that part of his game. He'd been out for a good while before (13 months) and I think he's found it very difficult to get back, from a goalscoring point of view, to where he was.
"What he is giving us is a really wholehearted performance. First and foremost what you want from a striker is to be a team player and give the team something.
"That he is giving us but, of course, you also want some goals from him. You can't fault his efforts to try and do that and that is probably the next stage for him."
So much for both ends of the pitch. In the middle, less surgery will be required by Hughton. Kayal continues to look a bargain buy and Dale Stephens, victim of a nasty, knee-high challenge by Nouha Dicko which should have earned the Wolves sub at least a booking, made a welcome return to the starting line-up for the first time in 11 months.
Hughton will have the sidelined Andrew Crofts back next season as well. He will probably have to replace the creativity of Liverpool loanee Joao Teixeira, a strange choice for man-of-the-match from the sponsors.
Bruno, irrespective of his goal, had his best game for weeks and Kayal would also have been a more logical choice. Perhaps they were swayed by a moment of magical footwork from the Portugese prospect in the first half to elude a pair of powerhouses in Bakary Sako and Kortney Hause.
Hughton conceded promoted Wolves, a physically strong outfit, were worthy of a point.
Stockdale foiled the threat from Benik Afobe twice in the first half, Gordon Greer clearing Sako's follow-up shot off the line in the first instance.
The keeper's breathtaking one-handed deflection at the death from Sako's rasper was followed by Afobe heading over from a corner, the final act of a just outcome.
Hughton said: "We had to defend well but we also had chances ourselves and opportunities where we broke really well. If Joao's final ball had been just that little bit better on two, three or four occasions then possibly the end result would have been different.
"Am I disappointed with the draw? Yes, more so because we took the lead."
A draw without Lewis Dunk, beginning a two-match ban for reaching ten bookings, would be fine at next-to-bottom Millwall tomorrow night. What Albion must not do is lose.
That would make them vulnerable to being sucked back into danger, particularly with Wigan capable of mounting a revival.
The summer rebuilding can wait but there is little doubt about the area Hughton will be looking at most.
Original article
Steve McClaren remarked, somewhat ruefully, after Derby's harsh defeat at the Amex that football is about what you do in both boxes.
Albion's chance to follow up that home win with another against another of the teams chasing promotion was about what they did in both boxes. Or rather what they didn't do.
They didn't take their chances, a familiar story this season. And they didn't defend securely once they had scored, again a familiar story.
That, in a nutshell, is why they are still looking a little nervously over their shoulders at the wrong end of the table.
David Stockdale's form between the post continues to fluctuate unpredictably within games, yet alone over the course of the season.
In last week's defeat at Reading he followed a passing error which played a big part in the opening goal with a remarkable triple save.
Against Wolves he gifted an equaliser in-between three fine stops, including a stunner in injury time to save his side from defeat.
Stockdale has made far too many goal-costing lapses in his debut season but you still get the feeling there is a more consistently dependable keeper lurking in there somewhere.
Chris Hughton will probably reach the same conclusion. It is unlikely he will ditch in the summer the £1 million No.1 he inherited, a year into Stockdale's three-year contract, as part of a rebuilding programme to take Albion back to the right end of the table.
The strike force? That is a different matter, the area which must be subject to the greatest change.
It is staggering that Albion, after Wolves' swift equaliser courtesy of Stockdale parrying Ravij van La Parra's cross-turned-shot into his own net at the near post, have now let in 15 of the 46 goals they have conceded in the Championship within ten minutes of scoring themselves.
Not as staggering though as the fact that Bruno, whose angled drive went under the body of former Albion No.1 Tomasz Kuszczak, has scored more league goals than the three centre-forwards available to Hughton put together.
Especially as the Spanish right-back's tally has now hit a mighty three.
Craig Mackail-Smith's one goal in 22 appearances was in August, Chris O'Grady's one in 20 from the penalty spot at Reading.
Leon Best, on loan from Blackburn Rovers after a stint with Derby, has not scored in seven outings and not for any Championship club since April.
There are mitigating circumstances - injuries, a fair proportion of substitute appearances, questionable service - but it is nigh on impossible to mount a challenge with such a goal-shy strike force.
Even Sam Baldock, out for the season with a knee injury after a fruitful spell on the left-wing, has scored only three times in 20 league games since his big money move from Bristol City.
Mackail-Smith, preferred to O'Grady after missing two games with a hamstring strain, spurned two great chances in the opening 20 minutes.
He headed tamely straight at Kuszczak early on when unmarked six yards out from a pinpoint cross by Beram Kayal, impressing again as a midfield driving force. He also skewed wide a right-foot shot from ten yards.
Mackail-Smith's relief was apparent after the break when he tapped in the loose ball from a Joao Teixeira shot fumbled by the unconvincing Kuszczak, only for it to be correctly disallowed by an offside flag.
Hughton said: "All we can do is keep working. We know what he (Mackail-Smith) gives us. He gives us great running ability at the front and he chases and puts defenders under pressure and he gives us a good outlet.
"But at the moment he is finding it difficult to add the goals to that part of his game. He'd been out for a good while before (13 months) and I think he's found it very difficult to get back, from a goalscoring point of view, to where he was.
"What he is giving us is a really wholehearted performance. First and foremost what you want from a striker is to be a team player and give the team something.
"That he is giving us but, of course, you also want some goals from him. You can't fault his efforts to try and do that and that is probably the next stage for him."
So much for both ends of the pitch. In the middle, less surgery will be required by Hughton. Kayal continues to look a bargain buy and Dale Stephens, victim of a nasty, knee-high challenge by Nouha Dicko which should have earned the Wolves sub at least a booking, made a welcome return to the starting line-up for the first time in 11 months.
Hughton will have the sidelined Andrew Crofts back next season as well. He will probably have to replace the creativity of Liverpool loanee Joao Teixeira, a strange choice for man-of-the-match from the sponsors.
Bruno, irrespective of his goal, had his best game for weeks and Kayal would also have been a more logical choice. Perhaps they were swayed by a moment of magical footwork from the Portugese prospect in the first half to elude a pair of powerhouses in Bakary Sako and Kortney Hause.
Hughton conceded promoted Wolves, a physically strong outfit, were worthy of a point.
Stockdale foiled the threat from Benik Afobe twice in the first half, Gordon Greer clearing Sako's follow-up shot off the line in the first instance.
The keeper's breathtaking one-handed deflection at the death from Sako's rasper was followed by Afobe heading over from a corner, the final act of a just outcome.
Hughton said: "We had to defend well but we also had chances ourselves and opportunities where we broke really well. If Joao's final ball had been just that little bit better on two, three or four occasions then possibly the end result would have been different.
"Am I disappointed with the draw? Yes, more so because we took the lead."
A draw without Lewis Dunk, beginning a two-match ban for reaching ten bookings, would be fine at next-to-bottom Millwall tomorrow night. What Albion must not do is lose.
That would make them vulnerable to being sucked back into danger, particularly with Wigan capable of mounting a revival.
The summer rebuilding can wait but there is little doubt about the area Hughton will be looking at most.
Original article