Carlos Vela stepped off the bench again to net an equaliser and earn West Brom a priceless point at Stoke to lift them out of the drop zone.
Vela equalises Delap opener to lift Baggies out of drop zone
Carlos Vela stepped off the bench again to net an equaliser and earn West Brom a priceless point at Stoke to lift them out of the drop zone.
Jermaine Pennant hit the crossbar in the first period and he then provided the goal assist in the 53rd minute when Rory Delap headed home his corner.
West Brom pressed for an equaliser but Marc-Antoine Fortune hit the bar with his header.
But the Baggies were not to be denied and Vela, who scored a late equaliser against Wolves last time, scored from a Steven Reid cross with three minutes remaining, although fellow substitute Peter Odemwingie looked offside.
Vela then had two efforts to win it in injury time but Asmir Begovic made two good close-range saves to earn his side a point, which lifts the Potters into 10th.
New boss Roy Hodgson is still awaiting his first victory after taking two points from his first two matches since succeeding Roberto Di Matteo.
The criticism of the Italian was that his style was too open - Hodgson inherited the worst defensive record in the top flight - but old habits die hard and there remains plenty of work to be done if the Baggies are to survive with 10 matches remaining.
Hodgson tried to find a solution in the short term by bringing in the likes of Abdoulaye Meite for his first league appearance in nearly a year, setting up his team to cope with the physical battle he anticipated they would come under.
Tested
The Baggies were tested by Delap's long throw in the first period, while Pennant forced a decent save from Scott Carson, making his first appearance since 4th January.
But the closest Pennant came to breaking the deadlock was just before the interval when he curled a free-kick on to the top of the angle of post and crossbar.
West Brom may have the top flight's leakiest defence but they regularly pose a threat in the final third.
Graham Dorrans and Fortune both tested Begovic with shots from the left and right of the penalty area respectively while Paul Scharner should have at least done the same just before the interval but bobbled a 16-yard volley wide.
There was little quality on show in the first half and after the interval glitches even crept into Delap's reliable delivery, with the midfielder throwing one effort straight out for a goal-kick.
Fortunately his close-range radar was unaffected and it was he who finally rose above the mediocrity to head home Pennant's 53rd-minute corner from three yards.
Delap's free header at the near post after stepping away from Carson was symptomatic of the problems West Brom have experienced this season.
The goal finally injected some life into the game, with Brunt (twice) and Stoke's Jon Walters both worrying their opposing goalkeepers with shots from distance.
Busier
Begovic was the busier of the two goalkeepers, saving Dorrans' header with his legs after it deflected wickedly off Ryan Shawcross while watching helplessly as Fortune's looping header dropped onto the crossbar and over.
West Brom pressed for an equaliser but often they were guilty of trying too hard, with substitute Somen Tchoyi blazing well over from the edge of the penalty area.
But the visitors had a stroke of luck three minutes from time with their equaliser.
Reid swung in a right-wing cross and substitute Vela poked the ball past Begovic from close range despite appearing to have benefited from coming back from an offside position.
There was still enough time for Begovic to be required to make four crucial saves as West Brom sensed a late shock.
First Dorrans hit a piledriver which the keeper parried to his left and then saved the rebound from Vela.
The keeper then saved from substitute Tchoyi before Dorrans then fed the ball to Vela but Begovic again saved from close range to earn a point for his side.
| Stoke City |
Team Statistics |
West Bromwich Albion |
| 1 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 3 |
Shots on Target |
11 |
| 3 |
Shots off Target |
5 |
| 2 |
Blocked Shots |
2 |
| 4 |
Corners |
0 |
| 16 |
Fouls |
17 |
| 4 |
Offsides |
1 |
| 2 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 64.1 |
Passing Success |
73.5 |
| 16 |
Tackles |
22 |
| 87.5 |
Tackles Success |
72.7 |
| 39.6 |
Possession |
60.4 |
| 45 |
Territorial Advantage |
55 |
|
