West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Middlesbrough: Baggies held but stay unbeaten at home
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Grady Diangana scored his first goal of the season to earn West Bromwich Albion a point
West Bromwich Albion kept their unbeaten Championship home record intact but were denied three points by stubborn Middlesbrough at The Hawthorns.
Despite the point, it proved the last act of boss Neil Warnock's tenure at the Riverside, as he parted company with Boro in the immediate aftermath of the game.
His side actually took the lead, Josh Coburn putting the Teessiders ahead before the break, thumping in after Duncan Watmore and Isaiah Jones combined to square the ball into his path.
The Baggies responded in the second period, although they had to wait until after the hour for the equaliser.
Grady Diangana fired in off the post when the ball broke from Kyle Bartley's header, after Robert Snodgrass put in a teasing free-kick.
Valerien Ismael's promotion chasers went for the win as their home support rallied, but found ex-Baggies keeper Luke Daniels in inspired form, while Sam Johnstone foiled Andraz Sporar at the other end in injury time to deny Boro victory.
Warnock made history in midweek when he surpassed Dario Gradi's record of 1,601 English professional games in charge, but letting slip the lead in their defeat by Luton prompted talk of pressure.
Even so, the timing of his departure felt strange after a decent result against a West Brom side immersed in the promotion race after relegation from the Premier League last season.
Had Watmore put his shot under rather than over the crossbar, and Martin Payero the opposite side of the upright, Warnock might have bowed out with a win.
Home form has been the bedrock of the West Brom push for promotion so far, even if away defeats have chipped away at their bid.
It took them some time to work their way into the game, hampered by the early loss of Matt Clarke to injury, although his replacement Bartley had a key role following his introduction.
The equaliser finally roused their fans, but a point was the best they could manage as Boro's rearguard action kept them at bay.
West Bromwich Albion manager Valerien Ismael told BBC Radio WM:
"We missed some key players in an important game. The performance was not with consistency.
"Sometimes we were really good, we were on top. But after the last touch in the box, we were too sloppy.
"You keep the opponent alive and when the opponent scores, it will be more difficult to come back into the game.
"It was a lack of quality in the final third today. Now we have two weeks to make sure we get all the players back."
Middlesbrough boss Neil Warnock told BBC Radio Tees:
"I was told this morning that I'm leaving the club today and I didn't want to let the fans or the players down.
"Everybody expected us to get beat. I thought they were super, the players. They're going in a different direction which is their prerogative.
"I asked them to give me a performance. Let me finish on a high. I just feel ever so proud for doing what we've done.
"I think we've stabilised the club in a difficult period with the pandemic, kept them up, and now we've got a hell of a good squad."