Steve Bruce praises West Brom's 'spirit and determination' after late comeback
Manager Steve Bruce was pleased with the spirit and determination his players showed after they produced a thrilling fightback against Huddersfield.
With just six minutes remaining, the high-flying Terriers looked to be coasting to victory thanks to two Danny Ward strikes.
Both those goals involved errors from goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.
But out of nowhere, Albion produced a thrilling late comeback to snatch a point - with Karlan Grant netting a penalty in the 84th minute and Andy Carroll scoring again 60 seconds later.
Incredibly, the Baggies could - and should - have then gone on to win it.
In the 90th minute, Callum Robinson's clever pass played in Grant who turned in the box before smashing a strike against the bar.
But while he says his side still has a lot to work on, Bruce was pleased with the spirit they showed in pegging back Huddersfield - something the boss felt was missing in Albion's last home game against Swansea.
"At least there was a bit of a spirit, a bit of determination, a bit of fight," Bruce said when asked about his team's performance.
"They didn’t give it up, which I thought we did too easily against Swansea a few weeks ago.
“There were a few truths spoken after that game.
“That defeat wasn’t acceptable. You can get beat, of course, in the Championship, but sometimes it’s the manner of it that hurts. That was tough.
"We've gifted Huddersfield two goals. But apart from that, I didn’t think there was much in it.
"So to get back the way we did – and we might have nicked it – it turned into one of those crazy games you often see in the Championship."
It's been well documented Albion's players are currently low on confidence following a dreadful few months that have seen them win just two of their last 15 games.
And Bruce believes that lack of confidence came to the fore again following Ward's first goal.
"I thought we started off very well, the crowd were right behind us," the boss continued.
"But we have made a mistake which put everyone on the back foot.
"You could see it visibly take hold of us.
"I didn’t think there was much in it. I can’t remember Sam (Johnstone) making a save apart from when he didn’t - for the second goal.
"All in all, we are disappointed because we have gifted them something. "But in the end, we’ll take a point. When you’re 2-0 down at home with five minutes remaining, it shows some resilience."
