West Brom boss left deeply frustrated by manner of last-gasp Bristol City winner

The Baggies were on the end of a stoppage-time defeat on their travels for the second game running as Robins substitute Haydon Roberts slid a finish under Josh Griffiths - just minutes after midfielder Jayson Molumby had been given his marching orders.

Albion looked like claiming a point against their play-off rivals as Alex Mowatt was gifted an equaliser after the hour shortly after Nakhi Wells opened the scoring for the hosts.

But the late winner, a third defeat on the spin for the Baggies who are winless in five, leaves Mowbray's men six points adrift of fifth-placed Bristol City with five games left - and Coventry can move into sixth with a five-point buffer with a victory against Portsmouth on Wednesday.

Mowbray said: "The frustration is that it shouldn't be easy to score against a man down, everybody back defending, you should always be blocking shots and getting something in the way.

"But anyway, it's not the first goal we've lost late on recently, let alone earlier this season. It's frustrating because I felt we were in the ascendency and if anybody was going to win it in the last half hour it was going to be us. But there we go, we found a way to lose as we did against Norwich and Sunderland in two games where we should've got a lot more."

A pulsating finale at Ashton Gate unravelled from an Albion perspective when Molumby was given his marching orders in the 89th minute.

Molumby raked his studs down the back of a Robins player's lower leg during a period in which referee Matt Donohue did not stop play for at least a minute with fellow Baggies midfielder Ousmane Diakite down injured.

Boss Mowbray was frustrated the official did not stop the contest, while the hosts continued to attack, before Molumby leapt into his challenge. Laws of the game state a referee only has to stop play due to a head injury.

"I'm personally disappointed the referee didn't stop the game," Mowbray added. "I know he doesn't have to but if he wants me to start telling all my players to hold their head every time they're kicked and in trouble, I thought it was really disappointing.

"The referee could see the boy hadn't moved for a minute-and-a-half. I know the laws of the game say a head injury has to be stopped but common sense tells you when people are trying to stop it and slow the game down. We've got a pandemic of goalkeepers trying to stop the game tactically, referees have to do something.

"Yet we had a genuine injury, a really bad gash on his shin to his ankle and he can hardly walk but the referee's played on. It's really frustrating for us and maybe Jayson was frustrated the referee didn't stop the game.

"I have no blame for the opposition, they have to play to the whistle, but I think the referee got that one wrong, he could see the boy was genuinely hurt."

Albion goalkeeper Griffiths, appearing in the league for the Baggies for the first time in almost two years, cut a calm figure and made some decent saves prior to allowing Roberts' tame last-gasp squirm under his body.

Mowbray had made the call to hand the 23-year-old a start in place of the dropped Joe Wildsmith, whose error allowed Sunderland's Trai Hume to score the winner on Saturday.

Ask to summarise Griffiths' return, the head coach said: "I'm not sure about that - how many great saves did he make? One or two? How many did their goalie make? About the same.

"I'm more disappointed somebody was able to have a shot because we should've had nine players in our box literally 10 seconds from the end, or actually over, I'm not moaning about that.

"I've questioned that. How can that happen? I was a footballer for 20 years, if you're down to the last second and the ball comes in the box you have to get rid and block it. How on earth can he have a shot from 10 yards that squirms under the goalie?

"I don't sit here and think 'what on earth's the goalie doing?' I think 'how did he get a shot with nine defenders there?'"