UPDATED: BROM VS MILLWALL PLAYER RATING
West Brom and tenacious Millwall played out their third draw in as many days, and they once again relied on Alex Palmer to make sure they secured a result. Albion had a significant advantage throughout the game, but they couldn’t break through due to the woodwork. Looking back, things may have been lot worse if Palmer hadn’t saved Zion Flemming’s penalty kick in the opening period.
In addition to giving Jeremy Sarmiento his first start, Carlos Corberan also reinstated Alex Mowatt, Conor Townsend, and Kyle Bartley. Grady Diangana was recalled for the first time since February. Additionally, there were some standout performances in that group, like Mowatt.
The flashpoint in the first half came in the Albion penalty area. Having rushed back onto the pitch after his facial wound had reopened and needed attention, Bartley – when defending a corner – was culpable of conceding a penalty after the ball struck his outstretched arm when he was under pressure. Flemming, who scored in the week over Rotherham, stepped up and fired his penalty towards the corner, but Palmer produced the save and tipped it around the post.
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That might’ve been a wake up call for Albion, who were slow in their first-half tempo having seen plenty of the ball but having struggled to break the stubborn Lions down. The visitors, as they have so often done down the years under Gary Rowett, challenged their hosts to find gaps and and exploit any space, but Albion didn’t possess any fluency and the front three – starting together for the first time – were disjointed and seemed to lack understanding.
The closest they came, really, was through Grady Diangana, for whom it opened up on the edge of the penalty area when he was teed up by Phillips, but his drilled attempt took a nick off a pair of legs in a sea of bodies and beat the near post.
Albion were the better side in the second half, but Millwall have long been awkward visitors to The Hawthorns – their last win here against the Lions was in 2018, under Darren Moore – so Albion knew what to expect. Both Alex Mowatt – impressive in general here – and Thomas-Asante cracked Bartosz Bialkowski’s bar, the former directly from a free kick, as Albion continued to press and labour in the final third. A point it is, and a week now to prepare for the trio to Preston North End.
West Brom player ratings
