Hull City 1-1 West Bromwich Albion: Darnell Furlong cancels out Fabio Carvalho strike to earn Baggies a point
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Darnell Furlong was a regular threat in the air and went close before he did draw West Brom level with his third goal of the season
Darnell Furlong's clever downward header cancelled out Fabio Carvalho's fierce strike to earn West Bromwich Albion a point against Hull City and keep them above their fellow Championship play-off chasers.
On-loan Liverpool forward Carvalho thumped the hosts ahead from a quickly taken corner after an untidy first 30 minutes.
But Hull, who would have gone two points clear of their opponents with a win, failed to deal with a Baggies corner just two minutes before the break and Furlong showed great strength to head the ball down into the turf and beyond keeper Ryan Allsop.
Chances were limited in the second half until a frantic finish, which saw both sides denied by the woodwork.
The impressive Jaden Philogene was desperately unlucky not to secure a fourth consecutive victory for the hosts with a powerful low shot, while West Brom substitute Adam Reach was a fraction away from a winner with a measured curling effort.
The Baggies, who on Friday revealed the takeover by American businessman Shilen Patel should be completed next week, also hit the post before the break through Jed Wallace's clever first-time effort.
But Hull, who remain sixth, one place below their visitors, had more control of an entertaining game which both sides will feel they could easily have won to close the gap on the Championship's front-runners.
West Brom were menacing on the break throughout, with the movement of Tom Fellows and Wallace, and the pace and direct running of Mikey Johnston catching the eye.
Johnston was the creator of most of their best moments, causing problems out wide, dragging an effort just off target and helping Fellows tee up Wallace for a shot that struck the post.
But Hull looked the more cohesive in the final third, and, after Anass Zaroury smashed a swerving shot that keeper Alex Palmer beat away, they led through Carvalho's third goal in eight games for Hull.
The strike owed as much to some collective quick thinking from a corner than the power that beat Palmer for pure pace as the Portuguese positioned himself on the edge of the box, took a fine first touch and fired home inside the near post.
Furlong's third goal of the season made it 1-1 when he outmuscled several defenders at the near post to nod the ball down and in at the far corner.
Jean Michael Seri, who got a lovely reception from the home fans prior to kick-off in his first appearance at the MKM Stadium since helping the Ivory Coast win the Africa Cup of Nations, almost restored Hull's lead after the break with a miscued cross that forced Palmer to backpedal and tip the ball over.
But the second half was cagier until opening up in the closing stages, when both teams came within a whisker of taking all the points.
Hull City head coach Liam Rosenior:
"If you can't win, don't lose. We put ourselves in a strong position against a really organised team, but these games are about fine margins.
"We are a young team but with two minutes before half-time we should have kicked the ball out into touch - and then we conceded a corner. That period between Fabio's goal and their goal, we were in control of the game, but in football it is about managing moments and we didn't do that, which was frustrating.
"We just need to learn from the mistakes, but I can't fault players in terms of engagement, energy levels and commitment. If that continues, I think we're in a really strong position.
"We're in a really good spot. We need to stay consistent, stay calm and ignore the noise. We'll keep playing the way we believe - this could be a really good point for us."
West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan:
"A point was the fair result for what both teams created on the pitch. We both had similar types of chances and a similar number of chances.
"When you don't win the game, it's important not to lose. We needed to concentrate in defence to get something. Our defence was key, but we need to improve in two key parts: don't concede possession and create chances.
"We tried to be aggressive and to stop them playing from the back and did that well. We had some good possibilities that could have given us something else, but they had a big chance in the second half, too.
"They have a lot of quality players, and Carvalho showed the danger that he has. In open play we were fantastic, but we still need to increase our levels of concentration."