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West Brom logo
Premier League
Oct 25, 2014 at 3pm UK
 
Crystal Palace logo

2-2

Anichebe (51'), Berahino (90' pen.)
FT(HT: 0-2)
Hangeland (16'), Jedinak (45' pen.)

Match Analysis: West Bromwich Albion 2-2 Crystal Palace

Sports Mole picks through the action after Saido Berahino's late penalty salvaged a 2-2 draw for West Bromwich Albion against Crystal Palace.

Saido Berahino's 90th-minute penalty stole a 2-2 draw for West Bromwich Albion in a classic game of two halves against Crystal Palace in the Premier League.

Brede Hangeland opened the scoring from close range for the visitors, before Mile Jedinak converted a spot kick of his own after Yannick Bolasie had been fouled.

The Baggies battled back after the break, with substitute Victor Anichebe heading home despite Craig Dawson appearing to foul goalkeeper Julian Speroni.

As time ticked on, Anichebe was fouled by Jedinak, allowing Berahino to notch his eighth league goal of the campaign to seal a point.

Below, Sports Mole analyses whether the result was reflective of the action.

Match statistics

West Brom
Shots: 17
On target: 4
Possession: 69%
Corners: 6
Fouls:14

Crystal Palace
Shots: 8
On target: 6
Possession: 31%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 8

Was the result fair?

Saying that it was a game of two halves is extremely cliche, but that is exactly what these two sides served up this afternoon. Based on that, it was probably a fair result, although the way that West Brom nicked a point was very cruel in terms of it being so late in the day. Still, it was a poor tackle from Jedinak, and he only has himself to blame for lunging in on Anichebe and allowing the Baggies to claim their point.

West Brom's performance

During the opening period, they did not really get out of first gear, falling two goals behind and creating very little in attack. Speroni made just one save before the break, as West Brom frequently tried their luck from distance. However, after the break and following the introduction of Anichebe, the game changed and the hosts were in the ascendency. They went a little flat before grabbing their injury-time penalty, but eventually got that crucial equaliser.

Crystal Palace's performance

The opposite of West Brom really, in that they thoroughly deserved their two-goal lead before tailing off after the break. Bolasie was causing the home side all sorts of bother on one wing, while they looked comfortable at the back. Once Anichebe came on, Palace failed to deal with Albion's new focal point. They also struggled to keep possession and mount attacks of their own, meaning that an equaliser always felt inevitable.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Victor Anichebe: The man of the match should always be someone who makes a big difference and has a direct impact on the result and that was exactly what the forward did today. Alan Irvine brought him on at half time and he had scored to get his side back into the contest within six minutes. His hold-up play was excellent for the remainder of the half, and it was he who drew the challenge to win the late point-saving penalty.

Biggest gaffe

As captain, you should know better than to dive in on someone when your side is holding on to a slender lead as the games ticks into injury time. Unfortunately, Jedinak's rash challenge has to go down as the biggest error in this game, as it ultimately cost his team all three points.

Referee performance

Two penalties were awarded by referee Mark Clattenburg, and it is hard to disagree with either call. Bolasie was too clever for Pocognoli in the first half, while Jedinak was foolish to dive in on Anichebe during injury time. Overall, Clattenburg had quite a good game today.

What next?

West Brom: Before a trip to Leicester City in the Premier League next weekend, they face Bournemouth in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday night.

Crystal Palace: Having gone out of the League Cup, Palace are not in action again until a Monday Night Football clash with Sunderland in nine days time.

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Victor Anichebe of West Brom scores the first goal during the Barclays Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace at The Hawthorns on October 25, 2014
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