Crouch strike foils Baggies

Peter Crouch salvaged a 1-1 draw for Portsmouth to leave West Brom bottom of the Premier League table.

Greening opens scoring in 1-1 draw

Peter Crouch salvaged a 1-1 draw for Portsmouth at The Hawthorns to leave West Brom bottom of the Premier League table. The Baggies carved out the better opportunities in the first half and took the lead six minutes before the break when Chris Brunt struck the woodwork with a powerful free-kick and Jonathan Greening reacted quickest to turn the ball home. Portsmouth responded after the interval and equalised through Crouch's deflected long-range shot on 58 minutes. Scott Carson almost fumbled Glen Johnson's cross into his own net but both sides had to settle for a point apiece after a captivating finale.

Deadlock

It was 23 minutes before there was a real sniff of a goal at either end - and it was James Morrison who came close to giving West Brom the lead. Greening showed good control in midfield before spotting the run of Morrison and the Scotland international had time to steady himself before drilling a low shot past the dive of David James but also just wide of the far post. Two minutes later Brunt missed an even better opportunity to break the deadlock. Greening and Ishmael Miller combined to leave Brunt with a clear run at goal but, although he chipped the ball over James, his shot drifted a couple of feet wide. Most of the pressing was being done by the home side with Greening prominent against a Pompey side who did not look at their best. Sol Campbell conceded a free-kick in a dangerous position 20 yards out after fouling Miller - and it led to the Baggies taking the lead after 39 minutes. Brunt crashed a powerful shot against the bar with James well beaten but Greening reacted first to the rebound and tucked away his first goal of the season. Albion were now dominating proceedings and Papa Bouba Diop picked up the first yellow card of the game for chopping down Robert Koren in full flight. Pompey boss Tony Adams made a half-time substitution, bringing on Glen Little in place of Nadir Belhadj.

Urgency

A mis-placed pass from Borja Valero almost proved costly for Albion as they were caught on the receiving end of a quick counter-attack which saw Jermain Defoe's low cross just elude Crouch's run into the six-yard box. There was a bit more urgency about Portsmouth's play and after 58 minutes they drew level through Crouch's ninth goal of the campaign - and seventh in the top flight. Referee Mike Dean allowed play to continue after Sean Davis was fouled by Jonas Olsson in threading the ball through to Crouch whose fierce 20-yard drive took a slight deflection off Abdoulaye Meite before flying past Carson for the equaliser. Dean went back and yellow carded Olsson for the initial foul before Albion restarted the game. Tony Mowbray took off Valero and brought on Roman Bednar to partner Miller up front with just over 20 minutes remaining. Albion suffered a blow when Miller was stretchered off with a knee injury after 77 minutes after a collision with James. He was replaced by Luke Moore but the home side could not snatch a late winner.

West Bromwich Albion	Team Statistics	Portsmouth
1	Goals	1
1	1st Half Goals	0
4	Shots on Target	1
8	Shots off Target	5
3	Blocked Shots	2
3	Corners	5
10	Fouls	12
8	Offsides	3
1	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
73.3	Passing Success	77
26	Tackles	19
65.4	Tackles Success	73.7
46.3	Possession	53.7
48.4	Territorial Advantage	51.6