Pundit brands Huddersfield ‘lucky’ as West Brom denied penalty in draw
West Brom added another point to their total in the Championship with a 2-2 draw away at Huddersfield Town but it could have been more.
Tino Anjorin scored twice to give the Terriers a two-goal headstart at the John Smith’s Stadium before Jed Wallace added a brace of his own to level the scores.
Late in the game, though, Karlan Grant went down under a sliding challenge from Will Boyle but the referee did not award a penalty despite the blatant nature of the foul.
Steve Bruce was seething on the touchline and labelled the referee’s choice as “the worst he has ever seen,” but Sam Parkin was not so outlandish in his statement despite agreeing with the Baggies boss.
“I won’t go as strong as that but it is a definite penalty,” he said on the EFL Highlights Show [ITV4, 27 August, 09:40pm]. “I don’t think Will Boyle knows where Karlan Grant is and it’s rash with clear contact.
“If the referee hasn’t got the greatest look at it, maybe he’s seen where the ball is travelling and deemed it a fair tackle but it’s not, it’s a definite penalty and Huddersfield are lucky to escape with that one.”
Margins
These are the very fine margins that can often be the deciding factor come to the end of the season if they begin to stack up.
It’s fair enough if the referee was obstructed in his view of the challenge because it was a congested area of the pitch and the game and it is a difficult job to find the right angle.
But he is not the only man who can make decisions on the field of play, there are two lines people who could have had a better view of things and made the decision for him.
It might be very early in the season but West Brom could pay the price for this wrong decision when May comes around and Bruce won’t forget it n a hurry if he thinks it’s the worst he’s seen.
The debate of whether Wallace would complete his hat-trick or Grant would take his usual duties will never be answered but it is undoubtedly two points lost.
In other West Brom news, Albion could have been welcoming a new loan signing but they have messed up as he heads towards Birmingham instead.