Seung-Ho Paik is injured diving for a header in a crowded penalty areaPA Media

Paik Seung-ho and Ibrahim Osman both came close to scoring for Birmingham

Birmingham City missed the chance to move into the top six after being held to a goalless draw in a controversy-packed derby against West Brom.

Victory would have moved the hosts into the play-off spots but, after a thrilling 95 minutes, manager Chris Davies and his side were left wondering how they did not finish with all three points.

That they did not was down to a combination of steely defence from West Brom and a succession of bad breaks.

First denied two goals by goalline clearances, Birmingham also had a late strike from August Priske disallowed after Demarai Gray was adjudged to have been in an offside position in front of Baggies goalkeeper Max O'Leary.

Of the two goallline clearances Callum Styles' first-half block from Paik Seung-ho's header stopped a certain goal with his hand, only for it to be ruled an accidental handball which was a difficult pill to swallow.

The second came as Charlie Taylor denied Ibrahim Osman on 66 minutes with an outstanding block on the line when the Brighton loanee and January capture was halfway into his celebration.

The biggest controversy of the night was yet to come. Deep into added time Gray was adjudged to have interfered with play by standing in front of O'Leary as Priske headed home from the late corner.

For all the heads in hands on both the pitch and in the stands it was hard to argue with any of the decisions taken by referee Adam Herczeg according to the letter of the law, even if the Styles block would have stung.

For the disallowed goal, Gray was in an offside position and, after standing in front of O'Leary when the corner was taken, had taken a step to his right but ducked to let the Priske header over his head into the net.

If Birmingham were left rueing a missed opportunity they had themselves to blame for not putting away any of several clear chances throughout the night.

In the first half, both Bright Osayi-Samuel and Osman forced fine saves and Tommy Doyle nearly scored direct from a corner. In the second, Osman had a superb half-volley matched with the heroic last-ditch effort from Taylor.

Marvin Ducksch was also twice denied for the hosts. Having forced O'Leary to keep out a shot on 71 minutes, the German had an even better chance with a minute of normal time to go.

One-on-one with the keeper after a defensive mix-up from the visitors, his half-hearted chip was gathered when he might have been better advised trying to go around the keeper.

West Brom held on for a draw which means Eric Ramsay remains winless as Baggies boss after six attempts, although a second consecutive clean sheet is something to build on as he plots a course away from the relegation battle.

The draw moves them a point and a place higher into 19th and was a step in the right direction in more ways than one.

'Incredible we have not won that match' - reaction

Birmingham City boss Chris Davies speaking to BBC Radio WM:

"It was a battle as we knew it would be but over the course of the game you would have to say it is pretty incredible we have not won that match.

"There were moments around their goal, one handled off the line which was a certain penalty with VAR and one goalline clearance which was incredible. There were fantastic saves, we hit the post and we had a goal disallowed.

"It is frustrating that we didn't get the three points but we certainly did enough to win it.

"I really like how we finished and I have just told the players to get their heads up because they gave everything. Unfortunately we couldn't quite turn it into the three points but certainly from a performance there were a lot of positives."

Davies: 'It's incredible we've not won the match'

West Brom head coach Eric Ramsay speaking to BBC Radio WM:

"We backed up Saturday's performance really well and showed a lot of the same characteristics but I would say we went on another level in terms of the front footedness, the way in which we were able to turn the ball over in their first third and aggression, organisation and will to win.

"I have to tip my hat to the players. They have a really deep squad – you saw what they brought off the bench – but I feel we went toe-to-toe and yes the last five or six minutes felt frantic but if you strip away those we were really good value for the point.

"It is real progress and I said to the players at the end this is what is required between now and the end of the year.

"I can't guarantee we will be a team who will play with real fluidity and we are going to be a team that finds itself in real flow but what I hope to be able to guarantee is that we will run in the way we did and show that desperation to keep that ball out of the back of the net."

Ramsay: 'We were really good value for the point'

Player of the match

M. O’Leary
7.44
17 I. Osman
6.42
23 Carlos Vicente
5.82
4 C. Klarer
5.53
31 K. Wagner
5.40
10 D. Gray
5.37
24 T. Iwata
5.35
26 B. Osayi-Samuel
5.34
7 T. Doyle
5.33
29 A. Priske
5.31
14 J. Solís
5.21
5 P. Neumann
5.14
8 Paik Seung-Ho
4.81
28 J. Stansfield
4.67
25 J. Beadle
4.63
16 P. Roberts
4.62
33 M. Ducksch
4.59
Back to team tabs

After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.

Related topics