West Brom 1 Charlton 1: Baggies pegged back to draw leaving winless boss Ramsay in trouble
Charlton's Lyndon Dykes struck a second-half equaliser at The Hawthorns to leave Eric Ramsay fighting for his job as Albion head coach.
The head coach, appointed just six weeks ago, is winless in nine games at the helm of the Championship relegation-battlers as a limited Charlton side fought back for an equaliser.
Pressure has reached boiling point on Ramsay after his side passed up a golden opportunity for a first win of a disastrous tenure in what felt like a critical clash for the head coach.
Returning defender George Campbell's header on the stroke of half-time had Albion in the lead for the first time in nine games under the 34-year-old boss but it never felt enough even against Nathan Jones' workmanlike but lacking visitors.
Dykes broke through the Baggies backline with 20 minutes left to convert a cool finish after the hosts had spurned gilt-edged chances through Josh Maja and Isaac Price.
Heavy boos rained down from the stands as full-time as Ramsay trudged down the tunnel. It was a Hawthorns not short on empty seats as some fans voted with their feet and for the most part there was an eerie silence among the edgy and understandably discontent locals.
It was as you were at the foot of the Championship table as rivals Leicester earned a handy draw at Middlesbrough. Albion remained one place and point clear.
Only Bryan Robson with 10 games in the top flight in the 2004/05 Great Escape campaign has waited longer than Ramsay for a first win as Albion boss.
With owner Shilen Patel once again in attendance, only time will tell whether Ramsay will be ay the helm for Saturday's trip to second-bottom Oxford.
Baggies skipper Jed Wallace said after the Coventry defeat the club had targeted a six-point week from three games, a haul that is now impossible.
Albion are now winless in 10 league games back to December 29 in a run supporters fear will see them plummet into the third tier for the first time in more than 30 years.
Ramsay's idea to spark Albion's attack was to select Mikey Johnston and Maja as two of five changes, while also pushing Jayson Molumby into an attacking midfield with extra security of Ousmane Diakite.
Maja, at times dropping deep to link from his centre-forward role, and Johnston with a couple of bright surges that ultimately led to little.
Charlton, led by the wily Jones, appeared to fiddle with some dark arts in an attempt to stem a lukewarm Albion start with a couple of injury breaks.
There was not quite the excitement to liven up a Hawthorns that featured no shortage of empty seats, as uninspired supporters opted to stay away.
It took until 25 minutes for the returning Campbell, up from right-back, to awkwardly send goalward from a stood-up Johnston ball from the left byline, but it was easy for Thomas Kaminski in goal.
The Addicks are a physical outfit content with sending the ball back to front and Sonny Carey - scorer of the last-gasp winner against Ryan Mason's men in early November - had a deflected strike grabbed by Max O'Leary.
Charlton were unable to clear a free-kick and Charlie Taylor flashed a few yards over the top right corner from 18 yards.
Johnston was Albion's chief outlet on the left - a welcome sight after three league games as a substitute following injury - but his delivery lacked at times. Alex Mowatt's tame strike well wide from range just before half-time felt like it summed up a very uneventful first period.
There was still time, however, for the use of the Addicks dark arts to bite them on the backside.
Fourth official Thomas Kirk awarded four minutes of stoppage time and it was just enough for Albion to find a rare goal.
Mowatt's corner from the right was met at the back post by Campbell whose downward header crashed to the floor and up into the roof of the net.
The defender toasted a scoring return with his colleagues as joyous Baggies fans in the Smethwick End chanted "we've scored a goal".
It had a feeling that one goal might not be enough and the hosts should've had their second shortly after the restart.
The midfield worked it well. Diakite and Molumby combined well before Mowatt's slide-rule ball for Maja in the box. His first touch was perfect but the second was placed well wide with pressure behind him. It was a poor miss.
Albion's set-piece threat continued as Nat Phillips nodded a corner over at the back post and Taylor sent an awkward one off-target from a Mowatt free-kick.
A clearly unhappy away boss Jones made his third and fourth subs 10 minutes after the break in a bid to inject some pace. The Addicks finally woke after the hour as a couple of unconvincing raids tested Baggie nerves.
Ramsay's side, so ineffective in the final third previously, continued to waste gilt-edged chances as Isaac Price blazed over from the right of the box after a fine run and pass by the impressive Molumby.
It felt inevitable Albion would rue the misses as they so often did under Mason and it proved the case with 20 minutes left.
Kayne Ramsay's ball down the right seemed to carry little threat, but substitute Jayden Fevrier smartly ducked and Dykes' run received the Albion backline. The former Blues man kept his composure from the right side of the box and slipped a cool finish through O'Leary's legs.
Deathly silence at The Hawthorns was pierced by a triumphant away end.
An edgy finale followed and at times it became stretched as both sides wasted promising positions. Groans from an agitated and concerned Hawthorns grew louder.
Johnston was somehow denied by a brilliant Conor Coventry recovery challenge inside the final five minutes before Mowatt fired narrowly wide from 30 yards.
There was to be one more agonizing opening deep into stoppages, as sub Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba's volley from a half-cleared corner flew a yard wide of the right post.
It looked in but it was yet more despair, with Ramsay's future in the air.
Albion (4-3-3): O'Leary; Campbell (Imray, 84), Phillips, Taylor, Styles; Diakite (Wallace, 74), Mowatt, Molumby; Price (Jimoh-Aloba, 84), Maja (Heggebo, 64), Johnston
Subs not used: Wallis (gk), Bielik, Gilchrist, Bostock, Dike.
Charlton (3-5-2): Kaminski; Ramsay, Jones (Sichenje, 34), Bell; Clarke, Coady (Coventry, 56), Docherty (c), Carey (Gillesphey, 90+3), Chambers (Fevrier, 56); Dykes, Leaburn (Campbell, 45).
Subs not used: Mannion (gk), Berry, Kelman, Rankin-Costello
Referee: Samuel Allison
