Morrison hits woodwork twice in dire stalemate

West Brom 0 West Ham 0James Morrison was twice denied by the woodwork but West Brom failed to score for a third successive game in a dire stalemate with West Ham.

The Baggies at least had the consolation of ending a run of three successive defeats and maintained their place in the top six. But Sam Allardyce’s side were worth a share of the spoils in a game which seldom moved out of second gear.

Morrison posed Albion’s most creative threat despite operating in a deeper role in the absence of the injured Claudio Yacob. But the Hammers showed plenty of resilience with central defender James Collins a rock solid performer.

The home players wore black armbands in tribute to long-serving club masseur Derrick Jones while West Ham were only able to field six substitutes due to their current injury crisis after Mohamed Diame was ruled out with a hamstring injury.

And it showed as West Brom took early control, with Chris Brunt drilling a long-range attempt into the hands of Jussi Jaaskelainen before Winston Reid spurned a gilt-edged chance for West Ham.

Albion started the second period on the offensive and Morrison’s hooked volley struck the top of the bar. But West Ham were always dangerous on the counter-attack and Joey O’Brien volleyed just over from a Noble free-kick.

Morrison struck the bar for the second time with 17 minutes remaining with a header from Brunt’s corner.

Youssouf Mulumbu, Kevin Nolan and James Tomkins were all booked in quick succession by referee Phil Dowd in the final stages and West Ham almost sneaked an unlikely winner when Carlton Cole’s snap shot had Boaz Myhill scrambling across his line to save.