Tim Sherwood witnesses ‘the most ridiculous thing ever’ in West Brom draw vs Sheffield United
Tim Sherwood was left in disbelief at a bizarre moment involving Ki-Jana Hoever in the first half of West Brom’s 1-1 draw against Sheffield United.
Albion had been pushed into the Championship relegation zone heading into the showdown, but boosted their survival hopes after a late equaliser.
An unfortunate own goal from George Campbell in the 53rd minute looked set to inflict a second-straight loss on James Morrison, before the defender spectacularly made amends.
Campbell latched onto a loose ball on 83 minutes, raced to the edge of the box and smacked home into the far bottom corner, sparking jubilation in the away end.
It was a much-needed moment of quality in a game desperately short of it at times, with one bizarre moment during the first half on Saturday afternoon summing it all up.
West Brom almost benefit from moment of madness
West Brom delivered a battling first-half performance and were handed a golden opportunity to take the lead after a rarely-seen, eyebrow-raising mistake from Hoever.
Hoever, on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers, conceded a corner from around 20 yards inside Albion’s half after a Sheffield United corner was cleared away.
Sherwood was left in disbelief while watching the match live on Sky Sports News.
“West Brom should have scored,” pundit Sherwood said. “[Daryl] Dike had a really good chance. It’s come from a back-pass from Hoever.
“It’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen.
“They’re attacking a corner, the ball comes out to the edge of the box and he’s 25 yards from West Brom’s goal, but he turns to his goalkeeper and half-volleys the ball back to him to give away a corner. I couldn’t believe what I was looking at.
“From the corner, Dike should have scored. Still 0-0, but incredible scenes.”
Luckily for Hoever, his blushes were spared after the visitors failed to capitalise on the surprise set-piece, with Dike unable to find the breakthrough.
Where do West Brom stand after Bramall Lane point?
At one-nil down, the writing looked to be on the wall for Albion. However, Campbell’s bolt from the blue could prove to be the spark that saves their season.
For large swathes of the second period, Leicester City were also beating Ipswich Town, which would have been one of the final nails in the Baggies’ coffin.
But at the final whistle, bleakness gave way to hope. West Brom, by the skin of their teeth, managed to drag themselves out of the bottom three into 21st place, a foundation on which to build.
Club legend Morrison helped them to two promotions to the Premier League as a player, but saving them from falling into League One would be his biggest achievement.
With 10 games remaining, time is rapidly running out at The Hawthorns. Morrison must evoke a fighting spirit from his players and treat each match like a cup final.
Anything less, and Albion could still be relegated.
For even more West Brom news and opinions, head over to Football Insider.