West Brom 1 Leicester City 1: Baggies pay price for costly misses as Foxes strike late
Albion were denied a statement win over Leicester and paid for not taking late chances as Nat Phillips' own goal at the death handed the Foxes a point.
The Baggies were moments from the best result of Ryan Mason's short reign and passed up several late golden openings to kill the game off and make the points safe.
Substitute Josh Maja was the biggest culprit as he blazed over from five yards, with Phillips also unable to connect to a header and Toby Collyer firing wide.
Phillips then found himself in the wrong place in the third minute of five added on as he inadvertently sent Bobby De Cordova-Reid's delivery into his own net.
It denied full debutant Sammy Iling-Junior's moment of individual brilliance 10 minutes in a deserved role as the winning goal. The Villa loan winger lit up The Hawthorns with an early stunner that looked like making the difference.
But it is a severely bitter pill for Mason, who looked visibly frustrated, and his players to swallow as they looked to respond to back-to-back defeats. A victory would have taken the Baggies into second at least to start the weekend.
Leicester dominated the possession but were otherwise unable to penetrate the Albion defence, until the dying seconds.
It carried frustrating similarities to the defeat at home to Derby a fortnight ago - as Foxes boss Marti Cifuentes referenced afterwards - with the Baggies once against dealt a late sting after an encouraging display.
Iling-Junior was one of three changes Mason made from the Middlesbrough defeat as fellow winger Mikey Johnston also started, as well as a Baggies debut for loanee left-back Charlie Taylor, in place of Callum Styles.
Cifuentes' side, unchanged from a draw at home to Coventry last time out, made all of the early running as striker Jordan Ayew shot wide across goal with Taylor caught out.
The 10th-minute opener came against the run of play for one of the finest debut goals seen at the stadium for many a year.
Aune Heggebo's flick on the halfway line was deft and genius. Iling-Junior took control just into the Foxes half and made for goal. Initially he looked a little unsure but bamboozled a couple of pink-shirted defenders on his way into the box.
A stretched finish was anything but unsure, as he guided a left-footed effort into the bottom right corner beyond the hapless Jakub Stolarczyk.
The visitors felt aggrieved and continued to dominate the ball and edge the midfield battle. Midfielders Jordan James and Harry Winks had strikes from range fly wide and over.
Left-back Taylor had an easy start as dangerman Abdul Fatawu enjoyed a couple of runs. He lashed well off-target and headed over before Foxes skipper and right-back Ricardo Pereira beat Taylor to the ball to stab a good chance wide.
Heggebo offered a good outlet for his side and kept Stolarczyk honest with a rising drive in a break from Leicester probing.
The Foxes were not as dominant with the ball after the break as Mason's men largely kept them at arm's length. Johnston and Iling-Junior switched sides and the former caused problems from the right.
Albion set-pieces caused Leicester problems. Skipper Alex Mowatt had impressed and his delivery was allowed to reach George Campbell, who was forced wide but still sent a presentable chance into the side netting.
Moments later it was Jayson Molumby's dead ball headed across goal by Chris Mepham to find Isaac Price in space but the birthday boy could only volley at Stolarczyk.
The Baggies reduced Leicester to pot-shots from range with several well off-target. Mason introduced Josh Maja and Callum Styles, the latter in a more advanced role.
Home goalkeeper Josh Griffiths was rarely troubled and Albion remained a threat in the Foxes' third. Johnston jinked to the byline and his cross was turned goalward by a stretching Maja, who was denied by a good block.
Molumby was fortunate having presented the ball to substitute Julian Carranza but the Argentina shot haplessly off-target. At the other end Phillips mistimed a header from a corner.
It was all late running from Albion in the closing stages as Maja somehow blazed well over as Price's free-kick was parried. It was a shocking miss and Albion would pay. There was even time for Collyer to fire wide.
The Foxes forced a corner. It was uncleared and another delivery was flashed across goal by De Cordova-Reid and Phillips could only divert into his own net.
It was enough to leave Albion pig sick.
Albion (4-2-3-1): Griffiths; Campbell, Phillips, Mepham, Taylor; Molumby, Mowatt (Collyer, 89); Iling-Junior (Styles, 73), Price, Johnston (Wallace, 85); Heggebo (Maja, 73).
Subs not used: Wildsmith, Bielik, Gilchrist, Diakite, Bostock.
Leicester (4-2-3-1): Stolarcyzk; Pereira (c) (Daka, 81), Faes, Vestergaard, Thomas (Kristiansen, 73); Winks, Soumare (Monga, 64); Fatawu, James (Carranza, 45), Mavididi; Ayew (De Cordova-Reid, 73).
Subs not used: Begovic, Okoli, Choudhury, Skipp.
Referee: Stephen Martin
