“Ninety minutes of nothingness” was how one fan described Albion’s return to the FA Cup – and he wasn’t wrong.

The magic of the competition abandoned the Baggies in a weekend where it brought them nothing but frustration, anti-climax and potential headaches.

First there was the match against Peterborough, which was flat. Then came the fourth round draw, which was uninspiring.

Next comes a London Road replay, which provides a potentially dangerous distraction from the Baggies’ main objective of staying in the Premier League.

Posh are now finding out what their third round opponents rediscovered last season – the FA Cup can still provide genuine thrills even in the days when league cash is God.

But for now at least the famous trophy they have lifted five times is an unwelcome distraction for Albion, as they consider the consequences of their lacklustre showing against Darren Ferguson’s spirited side.

The match was every bit as forgettable as the previous two Hawthorns occasions had been thrilling. It failed to stir up any serious emotions in the 14,000-or-so Baggies fans who watched  the clash on the first weekend after New Year.

There was no real anger, few moments of pleasure and definitely no excitement. It was a match that came and went without registering a flicker on the FA Cup Richter Scale that Albion raised to seismic levels nine months ago.

Albion were not woeful but certainly below par. Posh weren’t brilliant but certainly did enough to warrant their second chance.

There was no tempo, precious few chances, little in the way of controversy and a painful shortage of genuine quality. In fact, the only saving grace of next Tuesday’s London Road sequel is that it cannot fail to be an improvement on the original.

It is unlikely to find much support among Baggies’ fans, who will dream of another return to Wembley, while all the time keeping their real focus on 17th place in the Premier League.

The prize at stake on Tuesday week is hardly glittering. QPR or Burnley at home might be a means to an end but it will set few pulses racing in the Black Country or the East of England.

For Albion, the timing of their fourth cup meeting in two seasons could hardly be worse, as they look ahead to an already busy January fixture list.

When they should be recuperating from a potentially draining local derby at Villa and preparing for their biggest match of the season so far at home to struggling Middlesbrough, the Baggies will instead be heading down the A14 to finish a job they botched just four minutes from completion on Saturday.

Baggies fans will not dismiss their FA Cup hopes just yet. They will doubtless remember how last season’s ultimately historic journey to the semi-final had inauspicious meetings with Charlton and Posh along the way.

Yet for players and fans alike, they could really do without the potential problems that a replay could bring. They will know, however, that they only have themselves to blame for missing the chance to put the Cup run to bed until the end of January.

Despite a sluggish and at times nervy display in round three at The Hawthorns, they produced enough urgency immediately after half-time to put themselves in a winning position thanks to Jonas Olsson’s second Albion goal.

They even rode their luck as their League One opponents suffered a couple of near misses in their pursuit of an equaliser.

But Mowbray’s men failed to heed the Posh warning and finally shot themselves in the foot just four minutes from the end, of what would have been an unspectacular but very welcome win.

Yet a draw was on the cards for much of the afternoon, especially in a first half that switched from end to end to provide next to nothing by way of incident.

Albion made the early running and perhaps they found it a shade too easy to retain the ball in the opening 10 minutes. Because when Posh finally settled and began to hustle, the home side were unable to find another gear.

Before that happened, Roman Bednar and Marek Cech combined on the left to tee up Chris Brunt, who sent a dipping half-volley just over the bar.

Albion’s defending before half-time was at times ragged with Leon Barnett especially off-key. Wen the young central defender presented Craig Mackail-Smith with a shooting chance on 21 minutes, keeper Scott Carson had to be at his best to push the striker’s effort onto the woodwork.

It was Carson to the rescue again on the half-hour, with a fine low save to keep out a shot from the impressive George Boyd, after clever play from Chris Whelpdale.

Albion finally stepped up the tempo immediately after the break, with the previously quiet Luke Moore coming to life and pacy debutant Jay Simpson introduced from the bench.

Jonathan Greening twice fired wide and was then denied by talented young Posh keeper Joe Lewis, who completed a smart double save when he clutched the follow-up effort by Simpson.

But the deadlock was finally broken when Greening delivered a dangerous corner to the near post, Olsson finding enough space to glance a header past the helpless Lewis.

Then Albion reverted to their sub-standard ways of earlier and invited their visitors to press for an equaliser.

Boyd sent two shots just wide from the inside left channel as Albion backed off. The winger then had a ‘goal’ ruled out for a marginal offside as the Baggies were opened up.

But Posh would not be denied and, with four minutes left, the home side retreated into their box again, Aaron McLean crossed and Mackail-Smith reacted quicker than Barnett to poke home the equaliser.

There was still time for McLean to shoot wide with a good late chance, by which time most Albion fans were heading for the exits, no doubt pondering whether they should have hit the sales after all.