Kenneth Zohore’s first Baggies goal earned his side a point as they came from behind to earn a share of the spoils against a good Reading side. In an evenly contested game, Ovie Ejaria looked to have won it for the Royals with a fine 71st minute strike but Zohore showed nerves of steel to convert an 88th minute penalty to maintain Albion’s unbeaten start to the season.
West Brom made three changes to the side that beat Luton at the weekend with Darnell Furlong, Grady Diangana and Charlie Austin all starting the game in place of Ferguson, Edwards and Zohore.
The Baggies started on the front foot and put the away side under pressure, however a couple of quick breaks ensured that it was not all one way traffic.
As in the previous home game with Millwall, Albion passed and probed but actually created quite little, Romaine Sawyers not quite at his usual high standard with a few misplaced passes.
Matt Phillips wasted Albion’s best chance of the half when he pulled his shot wide whilst Sam Johnstone made a decent save at the other end from Johnathon Swift’s free kick.
After the break
The second half followed much the same pattern as the first, Albion passing it round nicely but not really showing enough incisiveness to break Reading down.
The best chance of the night fell to Albion’s Charlie Austin. Good work down the right from Darnell Furlong saw him drive to the by-line and pull the ball back for Austin, his low shot however was saved well by the legs of the visiting goalkeeper.
The away side took the lead with 20 minutes remaining when Ejaria, Reading’s best player on the night, was allowed far too much space on the edge of the box. The on loan Liverpool man needed no invitation to shoot and let fly into Johnstone’s top right corner.
Albion reacted by bringing Zohore on for Austin who is clearly still suffering from a lack of full fitness. The former Cardiff man made a difference and was denied opening his account by an excellent block from Reading centre back Liam Moore. He made no mistake two minutes later however, sending Rafael the wrong way from the spot after Filip Krovinovic had been brought down the box by the Reading goalscorer Ejaria.
It was a deserved point for Slaven Bilic’s side and it continued the Baggies' unbeaten start in the league. They will however need to start converting these home draws into wins if they are to challenge at the top end of the Championship this season.