West Brom 1 Stoke 1: Peter Crouch pounces on horrific defensive blunder to salvage a point

PETER CROUCH denied West Brom a 100 per cent start to the season when the veteran striker earned a dramatic point after a horror mix up at the back.

It was a blow for Albion boss Tony Pulis – the man who took Crouch to the Pottersfrom Spurs in a £10million deal when he was Stoke boss. Jay Rodriguez grabbed his first league goal for Albion to put Baggies on course for a third successive win.

The £15million summer signing from Southampton lifted the gloom at a sun-soaked Hawthorns.

Rodriguez, who scored against Accrington in the Carabao Cup in midweek, opened his top flight account for the Baggies when he nipped in unchallenged to head home an Allan Nyom cross from close range.

Boss Mark Hughes’ reaction to the goal was to send on Crouch as a sub.

And move paid off as the former England striker levelled just 15 minutes later.

Sobhi's cross was misjudged by defender Ahmend Hegazi and keeper Ben Foster who got into a mix up and allowed Crouch to head home into an empty net. But for an hour, this was a game that had nothing going for it in terms of chances.

Even the pantomime villains of the piece failed to deliver as bosses Pulis and Hughes exchanged a polite handshake at the start of the game.

Okay, Hughes had to seek out Pulis to make the gesture but the two did not ignore each other despite last season’s war of words over the events surrounding Saido Berahino’s controversial move to Stoke. Berahino was loudly jeered in the warm up as he took pot shots on goal - and was the the target of the boo boys throughout.

Stoke’s Max Choupo-Moting went down under a challenge in West Brom box from Chris Brunt after eight minutes but ref Anthony Taylor said no penaly.

Kurt Zouma’s shot then hit Albion midfielder Barry and deflected just over the bar with Foster needing to make the save.

Hegazi almost made it two for Baggies after Rodriguez’s goal but was denied by Jack Butland.

From The Sun