Blackburn 1 West Brom 1 - Report and pictures

In a first half dominated by Slaven Bilic’s side, Charlie Austin had two excellent opportunities to open the scoring before Filip Krovinovic finally put the Baggies ahead in the 41st minute.

Just moments after the break, Krovinovic should have made it 2-0 when he hit the post from close range after Christian Walton failed to hold a Matheus Pereira strike.

And that moment came back to bite the Baggies with former boss Tony Mowbray making a quadruple change on the hour.

That bold move paid instant dividends when Joe Rothwell swept home a Sam Gallagher cross.

With both teams ideally needing a win, the game became frantic and open from that point on.

But it was Rovers who almost nicked it with Sam Johnstone making a brilliant stop to deny Jacob Davenport after he had been slipped clean through on goal.

The result means Albion have taken 10 points from a possible 12.

But they are now just three clear of third-placed Brentford heading into a crucial clash with Fulham on Tuesday.

Report

Albion had been sensational - both going forward and defensively - during their win over Derby on Wednesday.

But Bilic still opted to tweak things for the trip to Lancashire with the boss making one change and switching systems for the clash with Mowbray’s side.

Potentially still nursing a tight hamstring picked up against the Rams, Grady Diangana had to make do with a place on the bench with Filip Krovinovic replacing him.

It meant Albion switched from 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3 system with Jake Livermore and Romaine Sawyers joined by Krovinovic in a midfield three.

Charlie Austin operated as the lone striker with Matheus Pereira on the right flank and Kamil Grosicki on the left.

Blackburn also lined up in a 4-3-3 system Danny Graham leading the line and Adam Armstrong and Dominic Samuel either side.

In what proved to be an intriguing opening 20 minutes, both teams had spells where they looked bright and inventive on the ball.

But it was the Baggies who looked the more dangerous of the sides with Bilic’s men creating two decent chances to open the scoring.

First, a lovely long-ball over the top from Semi Ajayi found Grosicki who charged towards the box before cutting the ball onto his favoured left foot.

From 18-yards the winger then hit a powerful low drive which a diving Christian Walton did well to tip away.

Another long ball forward - this time from Kyle Bartley - was then collected by Pereira who hit the byline before cutting the ball back for Austin.

But around 10-yards from goal the striker side-footed over when, normally, he’d expect to hit the target.

With overall the game was fairly, the Baggies continued to look the more dangerous of the sides as the clock ticked past the half-hour mark.

And it was Austin who was presented with another excellent chance to open the scoring.

A clever ball from Pereira saw the 31-year-old slipped in one-on-one.

But Walton did well to race off his line and block the forward’s strike with his legs.

Shortly before half-time, though, Albion did get themselves in front.

Again it was Pereira and Austin combining with the Brazilian doing wonderfully well to get to the byline, hold off a challenge and pick out his team mate.

Austin then stood up a cross to the back post which an unmarked Krovinovic emphatically volleyed home.

The sparked a frantic spell that saw both teams go close - with Blackburn almost getting themselves back on terms via a set-piece.

After a free-kick arrowed towards the back post was nodded back into the danger area by Darragh Lenihan.

And waiting to pounce was Graham who turned the ball towards goal only to see his header beaten away by Sam Johnstone.

Albion immediately went up the other end and should have doubled their advantage when the magical Pereira found Livermore just inside the box.

The skipper prodded a powerful effort towards goal but Walton again proved equal to it with the keeper making an excellent diving stop to parry the ball away.

Albion picked up where they left off following the re-start and should have grabbed their second in the 48th minute.

After Grosicki found Pereira in the box, the Brazilian saw a low drive parried by Walton.

It was Krovinovic who reacted quickest but just yards out the Croatian fired a strike against the post when he had to score.

The Baggies continued to dominate as the clock ticked towards the hour mark - but that didn’t stop Bilic making a double change with Hal Robson-Kanu and Diangana replacing Austin and Grosicki.

Blackburn made four changes at all once with Elliott, Bennett, Lewis Holtby, Joe Rothwell and Sam Gallagher all introduced from the bench.

And that bold move paid instant dividends with Blackburn pulling level just moments later when Gallagher hit the byline before cutting the ball back for Rothwell to fire home.

Despite the set-back, Albion immediately wrestled back the initiative.

Ajayi turned well in the box before seeing a shot blocked. Diangana powered wide from 12-yards after collecting another clever Pereira ball.

Suddenly the game was very open with Albion’s desire to find a winner also leaving big spaces for Rovers to exploit.

And the hosts should have got themselves in front when Sawyers failed to deal with a long ball allowing Davenport to run clean through on goal.

The midfielder looked destined to score. But Sam Johnstone did wonderfully well to make himself big before making a fantastic block.

Albion were looking rattled with another Rovers counter-attack ending with Bartley having to race behind Johnstone to clear off the line.

The Baggies huffed and puffed from that point with Diangana lashing over after entering the box.

But in the end, they had to settle for a single point - with the result meaning they are now three points clear of third-placed Brentford in the race for automatic promotion.

Teams

Rovers (4-3-3): Walton, Nyambe (Bennet 61), Lenihan, Adarabioyo, Rankin-Costello, Travis, Johnson (Gallagher 61), Downing (Davenport 75), Samuel, Graham, Armstrong (Holtby 61).

Subs not used: Leutwiler, Carter, Mulgrew, Buckley.

Albion (4-3-3): Johnstone, O’Shea, Bartley, Ajayi, Townsend, Livermore (Harper 69), Sawyers, Krovinovic (Robinson 80), Pereira, Grosicki (Diangana 60), Austin (Robson-Kanu 60).

Subs not used: Bond, Furlong, Hegazi, Brunt, Phillips.

Referee: Jarred Gillett