Aston Villa were the better team for much of the game, but failed to break down a determined West Bromwich Albion defence on Saturday afternoon, and were forced to take just a point in their 0-0 draw.
On top for the majority of their eagerly anticipated derby game, Remi Garde's men didn't do enough to win, but will feel that they should have had a penalty for a foul on Jordan Ayew, with Robert Madley awarding nothing.
Garde did stick to much of the team that had brought him four points from the previous two league games, with Mark Bunn continuing to displace Brad Guzan in goal, whilst Libor Kozak did similar to Rudy Gestede up front. There was no place in the team for Jordan Veretout despite his impressive recent form, with Leandro Bacuna and Ashley Westwood preferred in midfield.
Ayew took the game to the Baggies
Tony Pulis' side failed to register a shot on target throughout the whole game, which makes the fact that Villa started the brighter come as little surprise. With their player of the season so far, Ayew, threatening the most, some good defending from the Baggies prevented a clear cut chance from being created in the opening period.
One especially brilliant piece of defending came with just over 20 minutes on the clock, Ayew again at the heart of a Villa attack. The Ghanaian drove forward at West Brom's defence, forcing Ben Foster into a save, from which the ball came out to Carles Gil, who looked to set up Kozak for the opener. However, Craig Dawson stepped across and intercepted superbly to head the ball away before the Villa striker could get to it.
The defending declined hastily though, and the visitors should have been awarded a penalty just two minutes later, with the referee making a horrific decision. Ayew surged into the box, went down under the challenge of Jonas Olsson, with the officials pointing for a corner, despite the defender making no contact with the ball, simply scything down Ayew.
West Brom threatened a little
Later in the first half, Kozak did come close to opening the scoring, rounding Foster before hitting the post, but it wouldn't have counted anyway due to the offside flag having been raised. The away side did almost did their own grave at the end of the half, Mark Bunn dropping the ball in the area, only for the Villa defence to scramble it away.
That mishap gave the Baggies a little momentum going into the final 45, and they had a decent chance to go ahead just before the hour mark. Rondon had the ball headed down to him from Dawson's cross, but struck over the bar under immense pressure.
Late Villa pressure not enough
It was a fleeting sight of goal for West Brom, who soon brought on Saido Berahino in an attempt to liven things up. However, it was a Villa substitute that nearly stole the show, Rudy Gestede heading narrowly wide from Westwood's cross.
That was arguably the best chance of the second period, but there were still some more testing efforts to come for 'keeper Foster. Ayew continued his one man show by forcing him into a save at the near post, whilst Westwood left his hands stinging with a speculative effort from distance.
Still, none of it was enough for Villa to claim what would have been a crucial win, and it means they're still nine points from safety, with 17th placed Swansea City set to play Everton on Sunday.