West Bromwich Albion vs Cardiff City. Sky Bet Championship.
The HawthornsAttendance25,312.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between West Bromwich Albion and Cardiff City at The Hawthorns on Saturday; Carlos Corberan's Baggies see struggles in front of goal continue with goalless draw against Bluebirds.
Saturday 26 October 2024 19:01, UK
West Brom manager Carlos Corberan marked the second anniversary of him taking charge with a 0-0 home draw against Cardiff that saw his side's run without a win extended to six matches.
It is the longest sequence of Corberan's spell at The Hawthorns, and this was a particularly frustrating result for the Spaniard as Albion dominated the game.
An impressive display from Cardiff goalkeeper Jak Alnwick helped earn a draw, but Albion could not turn chances into goals, and there were some boos at the final whistle.
Cardiff's interim manager, Omer Riza, remains undefeated in the five games he has had since taking over from Erol Bulut, who left the club a month ago.
It was a point that keeps the resurgent South Wales side a point above the relegation zone.
But apart from a Callum Robinson first-half header that bounced off the top of the crossbar, and a late chance for Yakou Meite which was kept out by West Brom substitute Mason Holgate, Cardiff showed few signs of being able to win the game.
It was an encouraging display from Albion, who remain in the play-off places. But the result also illustrated their lack of firepower in front of goal.
At home, Corberan's side have scored just twice and conceded only once, but this was their second successive goalless draw, and their fourth in all this season.
Another concern for Corberan was that he lost both of his central defenders to injury.
Paddy McNair, on loan from San Diego Sockers, came off after just four minutes with an apparent hamstring injury. This was only his second league start for Albion.
With 11 minutes to go, centre-half Semi Ajayi was also forced off injured.
Albion created a series of openings in the first half, but could not find a way past Alnwick or a solid Cardiff defence.
Grady Diangana produced a moment of class after 68 minutes when he brought the ball under control superbly and looked to have found the top corner. But Alnwick again came to Cardiff's rescue with a full-stretch save to tip the ball over the bar.
Cardiff looked to be satisfied with a point as the game reached its final stages.
But Albion should have won in the final minute of normal time when Darnell Furlong's cross was met by Josh Maja. However, he headed straight at Alnwick who gathered the ball on the line.
West Brom's Carlos Corberan:
"I won't criticise a single player, but they cannot focus on the noise of this situation," said Corberan.
"They should focus on the things we're doing well. We had opportunities to score and didn't, we were in control of the game.
"But we've only lost two matches, and kept seven clean sheets, we're doing something right, but we need to create more. It was disappointing for everyone, the players and myself.
"We still have to do better. We weren't far away from scoring but we couldn't do it and we didn't achieve the result we wanted to achieve.
"I wouldn't say we were unlucky. What we have done in recent games has not been enough to win, we need to reach those levels. I can understand the frustrations when you have the ball and don't create enough."
Cardiff caretaker Omer Riza:
"We knew this would be tough - but we had to defend, it was relentless and nice to get a point.
"But Jak's been first class, he's a leader on and off the pitch. He's been given the captain's armband while Joe Ralls is injured - and he's led us really well.
"Jak pulled off some magnificent saves and dealt with the ball in the box, credit to him, he deserves a lot of credit, he was superb.
"If I'm being honest, we came here to win the game, that was our first thought. But West Brom were very good, they don't give much away.
"We created a couple of opportunities where we maybe could have scored. We felt in the first 30 minutes, with the way we play, we might have opened Albion up, but we weren't tidy enough. That allowed Albion to come at us.
"In the second half, we made little tweaks and it was a really good defensive display."
