Saturday 30 September 2017 20:47, UK
Tony Pulis was left lamenting the match officials after his West Brom side surrendered a two-goal lead to draw with Watfordat The Hawthorns.
Two goals in three first-half minutes from Salomon Rondon and Jonny Evans had set the Baggies on their way to a first win in four Premier League matches, but an Abdoulaye Doucoure strike gave the visitors hope.
And Pulis was left ruing referee Michael Olivier and his assistants after Richarlison's dramatic 95th-minute equaliser came a minute after the allotted stoppage time from a free-kick he deemed was a perfectly-timed challenge.
The Brazilian picked himself up after he was deemed to have been brought down by Craig Dawson, meeting Jose Holebas' cross to snatch a deserved point for the Hornets.
"It's disappointing. We should've been more set up for their counter-attack [for the first Watford goal], and it's not a free-kick [for the second]. James McClean actually gets the ball. Oliver is in a great position to see that and see where the ball goes, it goes straight back to Craig.
"It's a game of challenges, and if he takes the player or if it's reckless then I understand. But it's a good old-fashioned slide-tackle. He actually takes the ball.
"And even then, that's time. He played a minute over time in the first-half and in the second-half. They waited until that phase of play finished. If it's 94 minutes and a phase, then let everyone know it's this."
Pulis was encouraged by the manner his side had contained Watford for the majority of the afternoon, scoring twice during a dominant period.
Rondon's goal was only his second of the calendar year, coming after he was recalled to the side, while West Brom's second came from a familiar source as Evans was on hand to head in from a yard out after Matt Phillips' corner flicked off the head of Doucoure.
But Richarlison - who was the game's stand-out player with his pace and trickery - set up Doucoure for his third goal of the season, before rewarding Marco Silva for his perseverance with a direct approach by scoring the equaliser in the dying seconds.
Pulis refused to be overly critical of his players for throwing away two points in the final phase of the game, adding: "We work very hard on defending set plays, and the lads have done brilliantly today.
"The amount of balls Watford get into the box, they really do load it up with [Troy] Deeney and then with [Andre] Gray at the end. I thought we coped well. We needed the win, and it's as much a mental thing.
"We haven't lost in the league at home, but that's our third draw. We drew the game with Stoke due to a mistake we made. It's games we should be winning, and we're disappointed we haven't."
"We had a very good spell in the first half where we looked a good side but we need more from individuals. [Nacer] Chadli will be back after the international break to add to what we've got."
