A late header by Marc-Antoine Fortune secured a valuable point for West Brom against fellow strugglers Wigan.
The hosts started brilliantly as Peter Odemwingie finished off Jerome Thomas’s through-ball after only five minutes.
But the Latics turned it around before half-time with two converted free-kicks by Charles N’Zogbia and Ben Watson.
As the Baggies piled forward, Fortune hit the post and then nodded in the equaliser from Thomas’s cross with Jonas Olsson almost heading a winner.
It was a thoroughly deserved point for Roberto di Matteo’s side and the home fans will be wondering why the players did not show the same verve and tenacity after drawing level in the rest of this end-to-end encounter.
Click to play
Click to play
West Brom ‘spirit’ pleases Di Matteo
However, with a seventh loss in eight games looking likely with 11 minutes left on the clock, West Brom will be grateful a point ensured they remained three points above the Premier League relegation zone and kept their opponents in the bottom three.
With only three points and two places separating the teams near the foot of the table before Tuesday’s clash at the Hawthorns, both bosses prepared for battle by declaring how “massive” this game was.
Visiting manager Roberto Martinez would have enjoyed the opening four minutes as his team, boasting the recalled striker Hugo Rodallega and midfielder N’Zogbia, ventured menacingly forward.
But a swift counter-attack undid all their hard work as the Baggies opened up the scoring in devastating fashion.
In their first attack of the game, Thomas burst towards the halfway line and after a perfectly-weighted threaded ball through to Odemwingie, the Nigerian outmuscled Steve Gohouri to coolly slot in his ninth of season.
606: DEBATE
After another tactically inept performance is Di Matteo out of his depth? We are heading for the drop
currygobbler
For a team sharing the joint-worst top-flight defensive record with West Ham before the match, though, it would have been little surprise for the home faithful to see their side capitulate before the interval.
Their downfall began on 20 minutes and it was all down to the impressive N’Zogbia who created and converted the equaliser with a small dose of help from West Brom’s Youssouf Mulumbu.
Wigan’s star midfielder N’Zogbia, who was subject of a late transfer bid by Newcastle on Monday, darted through the defence to the edge of the box and after being carelessly tripped by Mulumbu, he planted his free-kick into the net thanks to a deflection off the same midfielder’s knee.
Two minutes before the interval, the Baggies ensured they were the sole owners of the Premier League’s record for most goals conceded (45) and it was the result of yet another set piece.
Following a chop by defender Gonzalo Jara on Maynor Figueroa, Watson whipped in a free-kick and despite a number of heads flying desperately to clear the danger, the Latics were soon celebrating as the ball nestled inside the right post.
Having left the field to a chorus of boos, the West Brom players reappeared for the second half in determined mood and the lively Thomas curled narrowly over after linking up well with captain Chris Brunt.
But apart from a couple of dazzling runs by N’Zogbia and a wild shot by Rodallega, it was the Baggies who looked the most likely to score – particularly after the largely disappointing Carlos Vela was substituted with his debut lasting just under an hour.
Click to play
Click to play
Draw feels like defeat – Martinez
Two wonderful strikes from Fortune and then Brunt that hit the same right hand post helped swing the momentum firmly towards the hosts, and the equaliser soon arrived.
Mulumbu passed the ball out wide to Thomas who delivered another dangerous cross and it was left for substitute Fortune to leap acrobatically and head down and low into the empty net.
And as the visitors were increasingly forced on to the back foot and the noise levels inside the stadium reaching fever pitch, only a smart save by Ali Al Habsi denied a late winner from Olsson when he pushed his fierce header over the bar.
Mixed emotions for both teams but with Wigan now looking forward to games coming up against Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea, it may just be Di Matteo who had the bigger smile after this entertaining match.
West Brom boss Roberto di Matteo:
“I’m pleased with the way the players performed. We showed some great spirit to get back into the game.
“We hit the post twice and the keeper made some great saves. We put a lot of pressure on Wigan and it just doesn’t seem to go into the goal at the moment.”
Wigan manager Roberto Martinez:
“We need to know how to wrap up the points. We had a fantastic spell of good football after going 1-0 down.
“We went 2-1 up and we had opportunities to score a third goal. It was a relly good open game of football. We should have won. It feels more like a defeat than a point gained.”
