Keith Hackett wowed by ‘sensational’ officials in Birmingham vs West Brom as drama explodes
Birmingham City and West Brom played out a goalless draw at St. Andrew’s that had plenty of controversy on Tuesday.
Eric Ramsay was under pressure going to the match, and although he is still looking for his first win as West Brom‘s head coach, he will definitely treasure a valuable point on the road.
Birmingham have a fantastic home record in the Championship, but they couldn’t break the visitors down.
Ramsay set up his side to frustrate the Blues, and it worked to great effect as the home crowd grew increasingly impatient as the game progressed.
Chris Davies’ men thought they had scored the winner in the 95th minute, only for August Priske’s header to be ruled out for offside in a crazy end to the match.
Keith Hackett praises the refereeing team in Birmingham City vs West Brom
Priske’s header flew past Max O’Leary, although his view was obstructed by Demarai Gray, who was standing in an offside position.
Shortly afterwards, Charlie Taylor, who had a magnificent game, committed a tactical foul on Gray that prompted a furious reaction from the Birmingham players and earned himself a yellow card from referee Adam Herczeg.
The drama wasn’t over yet, as Taylor headed the ball against his own post from the resulting free-kick.
Officials in Birmingham City vs West Brom:
- Referee: Adam Herczeg
- Assistant Referee 1: Callum Gough
- Assistant Referee 2: Andrew Fox
- Fourth Official: Matt Donohue
Speaking exclusively to West Brom News, ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett didn’t hold back his praise for the refereeing team during the closing moments of the game.
He said: “Sensational end to the Birmingham City vs West Brom game. Birmingham scored in added time, only for it to be ruled out for offside. The eagle-eyed assistant correctly raised his flag for offside.
“It was the correct call, a Birmingham City player who had initially been standing in front of the goalkeeper was interfering with his opponent when the ball was headed into the goal.
“Terrific performance from the referee and his team in this pulsating 0-0 draw.”
While the officials will deservedly get their plaudits, it was a resilient performance from the Baggies, who are starting to find their feet under Ramsay.
Eric Ramsay and the West Brom players are winning the fans over
West Brom drew 0-0 with Stoke on Saturday, and keeping a clean sheet in that match was the first step in the right direction.
Following Tuesday’s result, that’s the first time the Baggies have kept back-to-back clean sheets since October 2024, when Carlos Corberan was in charge.
The supporters have seen far too many spineless performances this season, but the last two games have shown that the players are fighting hard under their new head coach.
Although Ramsay can’t afford to continue his winless start for much longer, West Brom are now two points clear of the relegation zone.
With 14 games left to play, let’s hope that those two clean sheets can spur them on to achieve Championship survival comfortably.