Salomon Rondon struck in added time to rescue West Bromwich Albion a scrappy 1-1 draw against Swansea City at The Hawthorns this evening.
Gylfi Sigurdsson looked to have won the game with his breakthrough goal shortly after the hour mark, but the Swans were denied a third league win on the bounce for the first time this season in added time.
Albion stay three points above their opponents as a result of the late twist, while City cruelly remain in danger in 16th place after a first draw between these sides in 10 top-flight outings.
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The encounter between two of the division's three lowest scorers got off to a bright start, as Craig Dawson's right-sided cross was met well by Darren Fletcher inside the box, only for Lukasz Fabianski to help the ball over the bar.
That proved to be a false dawn, though, as the opening quarter of the game passed with neither side mustering another shot on target.
It took until a little over 30 minutes into the contest before Swansea registered their first shot of note, with a loose ball in midfield being quickly latched on to by Sigurdsson who unleashed a shot from all of 40 yards out.
West Brom were able to create another couple of openings of their own late in the half, the best of which fell to Fletcher once more in a central position, but the Scotland international struggled to connect properly with a cutback into his path.
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Dawson, who was proving to be one of the home side's key players down the right, worked some space of his own soon after to meet Stephane Sessegnon's free kick into the box, which flashed narrowly wide of the far post.
A brief pause in play ensued as Ki Sung-yeung received some prolonged treatment on the field for a head injury, but far from seeing the half die out Swansea pushed on and came close themselves when substitute Alberto Paloschi was denied a debut goal by the quick reactions of Ben Foster on his 200th Premier League appearance.
An injury picked up by Jonny Evans in the opening stages of the second period seemed to disrupt Albion's flow somewhat, and sure enough they found themselves a goal down 63 minutes in when Leon Britton's pass found its way to Sigurdsson, who coolly tucked the ball into the bottom corner of the net.
Albion, now with just one win in their last seven in all competitions after this latest setback, came close to finding a leveller when replacement striker Victor Anichebe fired a shot goalwards, yet Fabianski was there once more to push the ball aside.
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Despite chasing a goal, West Brom struggled to truly put any sustained pressure on their opponents in the closing stages, and instead it was the visitors who looked the more likely to add a second of the night for large parts.
Paloschi, an £8m signing from Chievo last month, almost marked an impressive debut showing with a late goal, but he could only pick out the post when getting on the end of Kyle Naughton's cross.
It proved to be a key moment in the match, too, as Rondon turned home from a corner that the Welsh outfit struggled to properly deal with in added time to rescue his side a crucial point.
Daniel Lewis
