West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Burnley: Brandon Thomas-Asante rescues point for Baggies
- Published
- comments
West Brom goalscorer Brandon Thomas-Asante joined from Salford on Wednesday
West Bromwich Albion left it until the last second to rescue a point against Burnley as debutant Brandon Thomas-Asante came off the bench to scramble in a 98th-minute equaliser.
Former Albion striker Jay Rodriguez looked to have made a winning return to The Hawthorns when he scored from the penalty spot in the first half.
Rodriguez coolly slotted home the spot kick after Albion goalkeeper David Button brought down Nathan Tella when clean through.
On a night when Steve Bruce's Baggies twice hit the woodwork, again created plenty of chances and had no luck in front of goal, Burnley substitute Darko Churlinov could have settled it, only to hit the post himself.
But, just when Vincent Kompany's Clarets looked set to go top of the Championship, Thomas-Asante, Albion's midweek signing from Salford City, brought the house down with his close-range finish.
While Kompany might have been irritated by the lateness of the Albion leveller, it was in reality the very least the hosts deserved for another vibrant display, even if it was the Baggies' sixth draw in eight games this season.
An instant Hawthorns hero
Albion made one change, bringing in Taylor Gardner-Hickman at right-back, while Dara O'Shea shuffled across to centre-back in place of the injured Semi Ajayi.
Burnley made one change, bringing back on-loan Chelsea full-back Ian Maatsen from suspension.
Brandon Thomas-Asante gave West Brom a spark after coming on in the 70th minute
But it was Albion who made the brighter start - and they had just gone close twice in quick succession, with Conor Townsend denied at the near post by Burnley keeper Arijanet Muric before Kyle Bartley bounced a header on top of the crossbar, when Burnley stole in front.
It was route one, straight from the boot of keeper Muric, but Tella's sublime first touch to bring it down in his stride was pure box office, worth a goal on its own.
His next touch took him around Button, to the Albion keeper's right, before he was tripped by the outstretched right leg.
The only surprise was that Button stayed on the pitch, only being yellow carded before Rodriguez, who scored 33 goals in two seasons with Albion before re-joining Burnley in 2019, stepped up to the spot to send him the wrong way with a well-struck effort.
Albion then found the woodwork again when Jed Wallace's left-foot shot was touched on to the post by Muric.
After the break, they saw another Bartley header bounce over, and a handball penalty shout against Taylor Harwood-Bellis go unrewarded.
Burnley should have had a second penalty themselves when Churlinov's cross hit O'Shea's outstretched arm, but their protests were waved away.
The visitors then wasted a great chance to settle it when Townsend played a weak backpass and winger Churlinov raced clear, only to hit the left upright.
But Thomas-Asante always looked a handful after coming on for Bartley on 70 minutes, the home crowd immediately took to him and, with the hosts' eighth on-target effort, he was in the right place at the right time.
John Swift's right foot teased a beautifully weighted out-swinging cross back into the six-yard box, the ball cannoned loose off Burnley's Wales international defender Connor Roberts - and, as he fell to earth, the tumbling Thomas-Asante got enough force with his outstretched left leg to propel the ball over the line.
Albion's leveller at least helped to ease a frustrating final day of the summer transfer window when they missed out on at least two targets, Brighton midfielder Steven Alzate and Fulham's Josh Onomah due to paperwork issues, despite a deal being agreed with over an hour to spare.
West Bromwich Albion boss Steve Bruce told BBC Sport:
"Overall the performance was just what we needed after a difficult 24 hours. We're devastated, disappointed, angry and frustrated about what happened. But I'm not going to go into details because I don't think that would be right.
"We had umpteen chances. And it was a great ball in from Swifty. And I'm delighted the kid's got a goal and he's going to make the headlines. He'll feel like he's won the lottery.
"It was so refreshing to see his enthusiasm when he came through the door. My son-in-law (Matt Smith), who plays at Salford, first spotted him. He thought he'd got the pace and power to succeed and he's certainly made a great start.
"Our supporters were magnificent too - and the team really responded. They never gave up and we got the very least we deserved."
Burnley boss Vincent Kompany told BBC Sport:
"I've been long enough in the game to recognise it's a good point. It's the first time where we've looked a bit leggy. Just playing that 100 minutes proved too much for us in the end.
"Every game this season West Brom have created enough chances. One day they will start to go in for them. They were a real threat. They had big chances.
"We had huge chances too. But we just kept giving the ball away. We didn't take care of the ball and a lot of it was due to the players being tired. We were playing against a team that could have got the three points. So it's a good point for us.
"It's really hard to get penalties in the Championship and, while the handball one was against my team this time, I'm quite pleased about that. They only tend to get given when they are obvious penalties."