For all the heads in hands on both the pitch and in the stands it was hard to argue with any of the decisions taken by referee Adam Herczeg according to the letter of the law, even if the Styles block would have stung.

For the disallowed goal, Gray was in an offside position and, after standing in front of O’Leary when the corner was taken, had taken a step to his right but ducked to let the Priske header over his head into the net.

If Birmingham were left rueing a missed opportunity they had themselves to blame for not putting away any of several clear chances throughout the night.

In the first half, both Bright Osayi-Samuel and Osman forced fine saves and Tommy Doyle nearly scored direct from a corner. In the second, Osman had a superb half-volley matched with the heroic last-ditch effort from Taylor.

Marvin Ducksch was also twice denied for the hosts. Having forced O’Leary to keep out a shot on 71 minutes, the German had an even better chance with a minute of normal time to go.

One-on-one with the keeper after a defensive mix-up from the visitors, his half-hearted chip was gathered when he might have been better advised trying to go around the keeper.

West Brom held on for a draw which means Eric Ramsay remains winless as Baggies boss after six attempts, although a second consecutive clean sheet is something to build on as he plots a course away from the relegation battle.

The draw moves them a point and a place higher into 19th and was a step in the right direction in more ways than one.