West Brom drew 0-0 with Coventry in a dire Midlands derby at the Ricoh Arena.
Di Matteo's side lose ground following one win in six
West Brom lost ground in the Championship as they drew 0-0 with Coventry in a dire Midlands derby at the Ricoh Arena.
Roberto Di Matteo's side surrendered top spot as a result of the stalemate and were left to rue a late miss from Chris Wood.
The last six encounters between these two sides had provided a total of 24 goals but there was very little to get excited about this time around.
The game's real talking point came in first-half stoppage-time when Jerome Thomas appeared to be tripped in the penalty area by Martin Cranie but referee Keith Stroud opted instead to book the West Brom winger for diving.
The goalless scoreline means Di Matteo's side have now won just one of their last six while Coventry, who kept their first clean sheet in 11 games, have tasted success just once in their last seven.
Injury curse
With both sides getting the feel of each other during the early stages, Coventry's injury curse struck again after just 10 minutes.
Already missing joint-top goalscorer Leon Best and influential midfielders Aron Gunnarsson and Sammy Clingan, goalkeeper Keiren Westwood was forced off with what appeared to be a muscle strain.
Half-chances came on occasion during the opening quarter but, on the whole, it was a start with nothing to write home about.
Substitute keeper Dimi Konstantopoulos stood up well to keep out Thomas' near-post effort, and it was the Greek stopper who was again called upon to make the first real save of the match in the 37th minute.
His poor punch fell to midfielder Graham Dorrans who lashed a half-volley goalwards, but Konstantopoulos had returned to his feet in time to get his body behind the ball.
Pressure
The league leaders were soon enjoying a spell of pressure aided by some neat approach play as the half drew to a close.
And Konstantopoulos was again called into action although he could consider himself fortunate as Thomas' lashed effort bounced off his shoulder and narrowly wide.
And the half's biggest moment of controversy came deep into injury time when Thomas was adjudged to have dived under what appeared to be a trip by Sky Blues right-back Cranie.
The second half started in much the same fashion as the opening 45 minutes, with plenty of endeavour but devout of any real quality.
Both sides were huffing and puffing in the middle of the park but neither keeper was being forced to deal with anything other than the occasional back pass.
Both managers made changes as the final 20 minutes approached in a bid to turn one point into three.
Albion striker Luke Moore then came agonisingly close to connecting with Felipe Teixeira's deflected effort in the 73rd minute.
And Wood was presented with a great chance late on but, having been put clean through, he could only fire straight at Konstantopoulos.
