Albion produce stirring display, despite loss
TONY Pulis praised his side's 'fantastic' efforts against Manchester City - but felt aggrieved by two key moments which swung the game in the hosts' favour.
Stephane Sessegnon, who gave Albion a sixth-minute lead, was adjudged to have brought down Aleksandar Kolarov, which prompted Mike Jones to award a penalty - which Sergio Aguero converted.
But Jones shrugged away Albion protests in the second half when Sandro looked to have been impeded by Eliaquim Mangala.
On those decisions, Pulis said:
I thought it was a penalty (when Sandro was fouled). And it doesn't just affect us and our result but all those teams fighting City for that Champions League spot.
I also think Sess didn't touch Kolarov for their penalty. It probably wasn't a wise challenge for him to make but I don't think Sess touched him.
On Albion's overall performance, Pulis added:
Losing Salomon to a back injury was a big blow because he's done well but Saido played well up front, Gards played well when he came on and when we played well we did so through the pitch and created lots of chances.
We're disappointed we didn't take our chances.
I've always said I want players who will give it a go. They were fantastic for me today but we're just disappointed with the result.