Carlos furious at penalty decision in tense stalemate

CARLOS CORBERAN felt his Albion side were denied a certain penalty to reward their second half improvement at Ashton Gate.

But the manager was not referring to the injury-time tackle by Kal Naismith on substitute Josh Maja, which had 2,500 travelling fans behind the goal yelling for a spot-kick.

In the 77th minute, City defender Zak Vyner threw himself in the path of Maja’s goal-bound shot, blocking it with what Corberan felt was a hand.

“I thought that was more of a clear penalty than the tackle at the end,” he said. “The only way the defender could block the ball was by using a hand. With the tackle, it is tough for referees because they have only a second to make a decision whether the ball or the player is contacted first.

“Unfortunately, we have to assess Maja because he was injured in that situation. He is an excellent striker with a work ethic and maturity unusual for a player of his age.”

Both sides could have snatched victory in a thrilling finale, which saw Conor Townsend shoot wide for Albion with the goal at his mercy and Baggies goalkeeper Alex Palmer saved brilliantly from Harry Cornick.

The home side were dominant for much of the first half, but Albion roared back playing towards their fans after the break and in the end a draw was a fitting outcome.

Both sides were denied by the woodwork, Mark Sykes hitting a post following a Palmer error on 35 minutes and John Swift heading against the crossbar for Albion eight minutes from time.

Bristol City boss Nigel Pearson watched the game on crutches because of a back problem and assistant Curtis Fleming conducted the postmatch press conference.

He said: “We played some brilliant stuff in the first half and perhaps just lacked that clinical edge you need to show in a competitive league like the Championship.”