West Brom 0-0 Blackburn - Report

On what was Steve Bruce's first game in charge of the Baggies at The Hawthorns, the two promotion rivals both entered the game desperate to get back on track following a poor run of form.

For Albion, it was a night where things once again failed to click in the final third.

Andy Carroll had a couple of half-chances while Adam Reach saw a header right at the death cleared off the line.

For Blackburn, Ben Brereton Diaz was lively throughout and saw a goal chalked off for offside.

Substitute Reda Khadra also stung the palms of Sam Johnstone with a fierce strike from inside the box late in the second half.

Overall, though, both teams struggled to create clear-cut chances with a point apiece fair on the balance of play.

The result sees Albion move up to eighth in the Championship table - with Bruce's side three points behind sixth-placed Middlesbrough.

REPORT

Bruce's first match at Sheffield United saw Albion play a new system with the 61-year-old opting for a 4-3-3 formation.

And the boss stuck with that here - with the former Newcastle chief having seen plenty of positives in Yorkshire before Jake Livermore picked up a first-half red card.

Livermore's subsequent suspension led to Jayson Molumby returning to the side for the visit of Blackburn - with the Irish international lining up in central midfield alongside Alex Mowatt and Adam Reach.

Bruce also opted to make a change up front with Callum Robinson getting the nod ahead of Grady Diangana on the right flank.

Karlan Grant started on the left with Andy Carroll the central striker.

Blackburn lined up in a 3-4-1-2 formation with John Buckley in the number 10 role and Ben Brereton Diaz and Sam Gallagher up front.

In what was a drab opening 20 minutes, Rovers were the only side to move the ball with any conviction - with Albion looking bereft of confidence every time they got into the final third.

But having been really poor, the Baggies suddenly kicked into life as the half reached its midway point.

Carroll hit a low drive inside the box that Thomas Kaminski had to get down to parry away.

Darnell Furlong then almost caught the keeper out with a clever free-kick from 25-yards that crashed into the side-netting.

From that point on, the half proved to be a stalemate both teams struggling to create clear-cut chances.

Blackburn, though, always looked lively whenever Brereton Diaz got on the ball - with the Chilian international comfortably the best player on the park.

And they almost got their noses in front just before the interval when his cross-field ball found Joe Rankin-Costello.

He sent in a cross that Gallagher was just waiting to nod home. But Furlong produced a brilliant diving header to take the ball off his nose.

The Baggies started the second-half on the front foot.

Conor Townsend sent in an inviting cross which Carroll headed over.

Matt Clarke then turned in the ball into the net only to be flagged offside after Kaminski had punched a deflected Reach strike.

Blackburn responded with Scott Wharton powering a header wide from a corner.

Brereton Diaz then brilliantly fired in after collecting a cross from Buckley only to also be judged offside.

With 20 minutes to go, Diaz - who had been the best player on the pitch by a distance - was forced to come off injured with Reda Khadra replacing him.

The German, though, almost opened the scoring shortly after when he jinked past both Molumby and Furlong to get into the box before stinging the palms of Sam Johnstone.

With 10 minutes to go the game became something of a chess match with both sides perhaps thinking a draw would be a decent result to stem the tide following a run of defeats.

But right at the death, Albion created two decent chances to win it.

First Carroll rose highest to meet a corner only to see his header scrambled away by Kaminski.

And they went even closer seconds later when Reach headed towards goal following a long Furlong throw.

The ball looked destined to nestle in the back of the net.

But substitute Tyrhys Dolan produced a brilliant acrobatic clearance from virtually on the goal line to get the ball away.

Teams

Albion (4-3-3): Johnstone, Furlong, Ajayi, Clarke, Townsend, Mowatt, Molumby (Gardner-Hickman 80), Reach, Robinson, Carroll, Grant (Diangana 63).

Subs not used: Button, O'Shea, Kipre, Castro, Tulloch.

Blackburn (3-4-1-2): Kaminski, Van Hecke, Costello (Dolan 74), Wharton, Nyambe, Travis, Rothwell, Giles, Buckley (Johnson 90), Gallagher, Brereton Diaz (Khadra 70).

Subs not used: Pears, Pickering, Brown, Hedges.