West Bromwich Albion 0-0 Derby County: Baggies left frustrated by Rams

West Brom and Derby CountyImage source, Getty Images
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West Brom and Derby County played out a goalless draw for the first time since April 1995 at The Hawthorns

Championship leaders West Brom were held to a goalless draw by Derby County at The Hawthorns.

The hosts dominated the first half, their best chance falling to Semi Ajayi whose shot was cleared off the line.

The one-way traffic continued after the break and Matt Phillips fired inches wide from close range.

Kelle Roos denied the Baggies at the death with a point-blank save from Darnell Furlong's header, while Derby's best chance saw Jason Knight's shot deflect just over the crossbar.

West Brom now share top spot on 15 points, with an identical record to Bournemouth who won 2-1 at home to Queens Park Rangers, while the Rams are 14th following a fourth draw of the season.

Just like in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Milwall, the Baggies will reflect on missed chances but they could not have come closer in the first half, with Derby having Curtis Davies to thank for clearing Ajayi's effort off the line following a well-worked corner.

The Rams rarely threatened but did have a bright spell at the start of the second half - Knight's first-time effort deflected over following Louie Sibley's corner.

But the pressure kept coming from the hosts and Furlong should have done better after Roos saved Grady Diangana's shot, but he lifted the rebound over the bar, while Phillips had three chances in succession.

West Brom head coach Valerien Ismael told BBC WM:

"If you have a good day it's a game you can easily win 6-0, but we didn't score.

"But that's the only blame we can have tonight that we didn't score. Sometimes you have to just take what you get. It's another clean sheet.

"It's a long season and we have a game on Saturday away at Preston. We need to make sure how we start the second half, we have to start from the first minute."

Derby County manager Wayne Rooney told BBC Radio Derby:

"The lads were excellent. I thought we handled and dealt with them well. It was a well-deserved point.

"When they did get their shots away, Kelle Roos made some good saves. He's a fantastic goalkeeper.

"I thought tonight he was excellent - some good saves and the detail on how he was kicking it was very good. Everyone was brilliant."

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