'Punished': Lewis Cox & Jonny Drury analyse West Brom's draw at Swansea

Express & Star

Albion had a number of openings in the first period but couldn't find the opener. It eventually came in the second half through Tom Fellows - before Albion had to soak up late pressure. But they couldn't hold out as Joe Allen headed home a 92nd minute equaliser.

Transcript

00:00Baggies fans, welcome to ExpressAndStar.com, my name is Jonny J I'm here with

00:12Albion correspondent Lewis Cox after Albion have suffered some late late late

00:16heartbreak at the hands of Swansea City. For so long it looked like they'd done

00:21enough to take three points back from South Wales, a grind but they haven't got

00:25the best of records but arguably the smallest player on the pitch pops up

00:29with a header in the 92nd minute to break Albion hearts. Frustration, a weird

00:35old game, Coxey where Albion had a lot of, maybe not chances but opportunities in

00:41and around the box, punished for not taking them.

00:45I'm very glum after that Jonny, yeah I mean when Jonny went out to interview the fans

00:49after the game it was 1-0 so as far as Jonny goes it's a 1-0 away victory

00:54but yeah really despondent, Brunty said it to me in there didn't he, the good

01:01draws and bad draws. This was a banal moment. This was the latter yeah, just you know the

01:07general outlook of obviously when a late goal goes in it forces

01:12the journos into a rewrite which is what I had to do up there and because

01:17of that, I mean I probably jinxed it, but because of that I was writing the first

01:20few paragraphs and looking at why this is the first back-to-back win for Albion

01:25this season since September, since the good run to start the season. You said that to me with about 20 minutes to go, we'll all blame you.

01:30Well yeah, sorry for doing some research but that and the fact that today has now

01:38become a 13th draw of the season out of 26 in the league you know 50% strike

01:42record I mean they're well on track for the EFL record I think by the way which

01:47is about 23 I think. I mean this is all not good at all and I've

01:54just put out there I think you know we've seen a classic example today of

01:57why that stat is as ridiculous as it is regards the draws, the number of draws

02:02and why they can't win games frequently really I mean look we know about the

02:07the bigger picture of no head coach and that's obviously not ideal but Albion

02:11have played well in the last couple of games and played well in the

02:16first half here for me against what looks like a really limited side. I agree

02:21with both head coaches in there that both teams were tired fifth game in 14

02:25days they're going to be clearly some changes because of that and subs but

02:29we'll get on to this I'm sure but I think the bottom line and what Chris

02:34Brooke was saying to me there was 1-0, 1-0 up, deserved goal

02:390-0 at halftime despite an absolute barrage of chances finally get the

02:43goal from Tom Fellows from the bench after the hour and you're thinking

02:47that's that's it aren't you but you know Albion didn't continue didn't continue

02:52to go for it and try and score a second did they? They had one more chance but

02:56beyond that Swansea were having the ball, Albion defended well, well I think

03:00Swansea didn't create a thing until you'd gone out of stadium and small

03:06Joe Allen came on from the bench and crept in between God knows how tall

03:10Torgan Hagan to head in a cross goal and yeah the point is I suppose and

03:18Chris Brunt I think hinted or suggested to this

03:22look he was pleased with how Albion were managing the lead in that they were

03:27defending well they weren't being stretched too much weren't a lot of

03:30damage being created but he was saying we have to make subs, we had to make

03:34changes, we had to get tired legs off you, I imagine Grant couldn't really go on

03:39and be effective and these changes had to come on and for me I mean not to

03:45pin it all on the changes I mean Tom Fellows was a sub and got the goal

03:48but is it a case of draws like today feels a bit like the draw at Oxford

03:54or the draw at Sheffield or the defeat at Sheffield Wednesday when it

03:58looked like we're gonna get a point in terms of obviously the

04:02players you're bringing on aren't at the levels of, a lack of depth isn't it, a lack of depth

04:07and that's is it today kind of a change of tact, sit in, try and soak up very much

04:11like a Corbran type, well it was really yeah, or is it because the personnel you're

04:16bringing on you know no disrespect to Devontae Cole he's not a type of player

04:21who can track the ball, he's not Josh Madger is he, he looks like Josh Madger because he does it superbly well is it a case of

04:25change in tact and sitting in or just the depth, both I think I think we saw

04:30if I wanted to sound like I'm sticking the knife in or you know hindsight or

04:35all of that, got a deserved 1-0 lead having played well and not sat off but

04:41didn't really go for a second did they to kill the game off for a third look it

04:45might be too simplistic to say that but I suppose Tom Fellows had a second chance

04:48and might have scored, on the flip side of it they could have been fallen off at halftime

04:51yeah they're not clear chances but they were wasteful, they got to a lot of areas

04:55basically Swansea presented them eight opportunities to break you know you

04:59could arguably say it should have been killed off in the first half which is

05:02easy to say in hindsight, I suppose it's all them facets, the depth maybe

05:05sitting in too much, and in defence, and wasting them chances that have ultimately cost them today

05:10in defence defended well to limit Swansea to nothing, Palmer hasn't had to

05:14make a, he hasn't been stretched at all, can't think of Swansea going close until that

05:18moment, yeah one safe distance with a stinging shot, yeah but can't think of anything else until that

05:23moment I mean that the Welsh media up here at full time were staggered

05:30that Swansea got anything out of that, they're almost laughing really at how

05:34ridiculous it was, I think most of that's from the first half really, at halftime

05:40Aldon should have had at least a couple of goals and we've been there, we've been

05:43here before this season haven't we, Josh Madger scored loads of goals this season, it can't all be on him

05:47Tom Fellows has set loads up, he was a sub today, I know Grant's stepped to the

05:53floor this season hasn't he, good for him but it wasn't even the chances wasted

05:57that he put wide or not, he was getting into good areas and not turning them into chances, yeah yeah yeah

06:01how many times, I mean Malumby, God love him, you know contract today brilliant

06:06news, had a great game overall, set up the Fellows goal fantastically well

06:10breaks the whole length of the pitch, puts it wide, how many sort of twos on twos

06:14threes on threes, Wallace had a couple in the box, others did I think

06:18Johnson, Grant, Madger, there's so many from the first half, the highlights package you

06:23could make from the first half is ridiculous frankly and even ones that

06:27wouldn't make a highlights package because it was just end-to-end

06:30basketball style and I just assumed that was Swansea game really, how Swansea play

06:35because it isn't much like how Albion play but Luke Williams and he's been in

06:40the column inches this week hasn't he, Luke Williams, he's just said in there

06:43that his reading of it was two absolutely knackered teams that had no

06:48sort of control of space or anything but it's just really frustrating today

06:53unquestionably two drop points and Albion just need to start putting more

06:58consecutive runs of wins together, I know before today they were back in the

07:03top six but the wider point of the new head coach whenever they come in you

07:08know we understand that's progressing, this is an area of managing out victories

07:13so they can win back-to-back games, two, three, four wins in a row, stop drawing

07:18because they're not going to finish in the top six if this continues which is

07:21the bottom line sadly, exactly positive signs but Albion only leave South Wales

07:25with a point, final score Swansea 1 Albion 1, you know where to go for all

07:30the rest of your Reaction Express and Star.com

Category

Transcript

Recommended