Meagre reward for Megson's men as hand of Radebe goes unpunished

Leeds United 0 West Bromwich Albion

It would be unwise to risk your life savings on West Bromwich avoiding an instant return to the First Division but at least Gary Megson's ill-equipped team are making an effort. Had the referee been kinder to them on Saturday, they might even have embarrassed Leeds by winning.

However, Uriah Rennie was not on their side. Within the space of a few seconds with 16 minutes left, the Sheffield official failed to uphold a legitimate claim for a penalty after Lucas Radebe appeared clearly to handle the ball and then handed Leeds a numerical advantage by sending off Albion's Andy Johnson for complaining.

It left Megson unsure whether to be pleased with only his second away point since mid-September or disappointed not to have taken all three.

Lee Hughes, the Albion substitute at the centre of the penalty incident, was of the latter point of view. "I couldn't believe it when the referee gave a free-kick to Leeds rather than a penalty to us," Hughes said. "He claimed I pushed Radebe but I never touched him. The lad might have been a bit unlucky that the ball hit his hand but he went for the ball and it was his hand that played it, so that's a penalty." Even Radebe believed he had been fortunate. "On another day it would have been a penalty," he said.

It is not the first time Albion have been on the wrong end of things with officials, as their captain, Derek McInnes, pointed out. "You don't want it to sound like a hard luck story, like you are always bleating about decisions, but I did think it was a penalty," he said. "A lot of major decisions have gone against us this season."

The decision to dismiss Johnson, booked three minutes earlier for a foul on Mark Viduka, was apparently based on the language rather than the substance of his complaint. It probably did not affect the outcome, given that Albion had been defending with eight outfield players behind the ball for much of the second half anyway.

Even so, it took a brilliant save by Paul Robinson, tipping over a Ronnie Wallwork drive, to deny Albion a victory, although Leeds could argue with justification that but for Russell Hoult they would have scored at least two goals before half-time. Albion's under-rated goalkeeper denied Viduka and Alan Smith with two first-class stops.

Leeds, who left Robbie Fowler on the bench until the last 11 minutes, never thereafter had the wit to break down Albion's tireless rearguard, who compensate for what they lack in genuine Premiership quality with sheer hard graft.

It was a moderate performance after what had appeared to be a Leeds revival and Terry Venables' attempt to turn it into a positive result was not convincing.

The Leeds manager suggested that earlier in the season his side would have panicked and lost if confronted with a similarly frustrating opponent. That they did not, he said, was progress. Given the number of games Leeds have lost to late goals, Venables did have a point, although it was hard to imagine many supporters able to see not losing at home to the relegation favourites as a step forward.

Venables delayed Fowler's introduction because the striker had not trained all week and still lacks sharpness, in the coach's view, even seven weeks after his latest comeback from injury, during which time he has started only two matches in 11.

The collapse of Fowler's move to Manchester City has left Venables with limited funds in the transfer market, although he is still keen to sign the Brazilian midfielder, Kleberson, for around £4m.

Megson, who is well used to a small budget, is pursuing the Spanish striker Salva Ballesta (from Valencia) and the midfielder Roberto Rios (Athletic Bilbao), the American defender Tony Sanneh (Nuremberg) as well as Tottenham's Tim Sherwood. The Nigerian defender Ifeanyi Udeze, signed on loan from PAOK Salonika last week, was an unused substitute here.

Leeds United (4-3-3): Robinson 7; Kelly 5, Radebe 5, Matteo 5, Lucic 4; Bakke 6 (Seth Johnson 5, 70), Okon 5 (Fowler, 79), Wilcox 5 (Milner 5, 69); Smith 7, Viduka 5, Kewell 4. Substitutes not used: Martyn (gk), Mills.

West Bromwich Albion (3-5-2): Hoult 8; Gregan 6, Moore 7, Gilchrist 6; Balis 5 (Wallwork 7, 35), Koumas 5 (Sigurdsson, 77), McInnes 6, A Johnson 5, Clement 4; Dobie 6 (Hughes 5, 63), Dichio 4. Substitutes not used: Murphy (gk), Udeze.

Referee: U Rennie (Sheffield) 4.

Bookings: Leeds: Smith. West Bromwich: A Johnson. Sent off: West Bromwich: A Johnson.

Man of the match: Hoult.

Attendance: 39,708.