Division One: West Bromwich Albion 2 Blackburn Rovers 2 - Peter White's match verdict

IT was significant that John Filan and Simon Grayson should lead the vociferous protests to referee Clive Wilkes at the end of a windswept game that saw the best, worst and unluckiest sides of Blackburn Rovers.

For those two players were probably as far away as anyone on the pitch from the 85th minute incident when Ashley Ward was sent crashing to the floor by the kind of foul challenge that, if it had been committed in the street, would have been deemed a mugging.

Yet, even from such a distance, they could see so clearly, like nearly 17,000 others in the stadium, that Rovers, leading 2-1 at the time, should have been awarded a penalty kick.

Why couldn't the referee?

The only question to answer for the jury would have been whether there were three aggressors or two as Ward crashed under a combined assault.

It was a case of Charlton revisited - where Ward had another crucial spot-kick appeal unbelievably dismissed last season.

Perhaps the two referees concerned share the same optician. If so, I recommend a change.

It was a minder that Wilkes needed at the final whistle and stewards came to his rescue as Rovers' players asked for the kind of answers that you knew he could not give.

What made the controversial decision even worse, of course, was the fact that, two minutes later, West Brom hit back from looking dead and buried to snatch a point.

Little wonder Rovers were furious, for they had shown a lot of character on an awful footballing day to drag themselves back into a game dominated by wind-assisted West Brom in the first half.

They seemed, in fact, to have done enough to have won it. Brian McClair, standing in afterwards for Brian Kidd - presumably not trusting his emotions - gave as good a summary of the game as anyone could have asked for.

By and large it concurred with the way I saw things.

"The game went as we expected with West Brom playing the way they did," said McClair.

"We lost an early goal from a fantastic strike. But, before he had the chance to shoot, I think we had been given a couple of warnings.

"Possibly in the first half they were more determined than us. In the second half I felt we came out and showed some determination and did very well to get the lead.

"But I still think we need that little bit extra belief, mental will - call it what you will - to turn the draws into three points.

"The weather made a difference but the really pleasing thing for us was the way our defenders were prepared to put their head in. They had to do that. The back five have dug us a result out."

McClair said more but that was enough to illustrate the type of game it was.

The four goals had good and bad points depending on which way you looked at them.

But no-one would argue that West Brom, with Richard Sneekes very prominent, totally dominated the first half. Although the wind was swirling all over the place, it seemed to be advantageous to them and they used it.

With Rovers failing to close down quickly enough or react to situations, they looked vulnerable to quick attacks from West Brom's heavy concentration in midfield. So it proved, though John Filan coped as well as any keeper would in tremendously difficult conditions and he had already made a brilliant tip-over save from Sneekes before Kevin Kilbane opened the scoring.

A bad first touch by an advanced Simon Grayson gave the ball away to Kilbane around the halfway line. The left winger advanced past a couple of hesitant Rovers players and struck a beauty of a shot past Filan and in off a post from long range.

There was little sign of a Rovers equaliser but the second half was a much different story, with three factors contributing to what should have been a fourth win in a row.

Sneekes went off injured, Rovers stepped up their game a gear and the wind advantage was now with them.

The equaliser came from a free kick, much to West Brom boss Brian Little's chagrin as he revealed they had discussed such situations at length beforehand.

Lee Carsley flighted the ball in from the right and Christian Dailly towered high and unmarked at the back post to crash home his header.

There was one brief threat from West Brom sub James Quinn, who should have done better than shoot wide, but the lead went to Rovers on 67 minutes. Ashley Ward laid a long ball back into the path of Matt Jansen and his well-struck long-range shot skipped off a defender to loop into the net.

Rovers were in cruise control but when Jason Van Blerk made a mistake to let in Ward for a certain goal, the full back and the keeper - and there was another defender around too - brought him crashing down.

No penalty said the ref to the disbelief of everyone and, that's right, West Brom equalised two minutes later.

There were people around to deal with Quinn's right-wing cross but Kilbane was allowed a free header which he tucked away well, low in the corner.

Rovers, however, were right to feel robbed.

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