Baggies frustrate Everton

Spaniard Pepe Mel’s first match as manager of West Brom ended in a 1-1 draw against Everton in the Premier League on Monday even as the controversy engulfing Nicolas Anelka took a new twist.

Diego Lugano’s first goal in English football, a powerful 75th minute header, earned West Brom a share of the spoils after Everton, which would have gone into the Champions League places with a victory, had taken a first-half lead through Kevin Mirallas.

Indian sponsor?

Our New Delhi Special Correspondent reports:

Meanwhile, West Brom is looking for an Indian company after Zoopla’s decision to end its sponsorship with the club.

Zoopla decided to withdraw from the sponsorship of West Brom following striker Nicolas Anelka’s alleged gesture, known as ‘quenelle’ (an inverted Nazi salute, considered by some as anti-Semitic), after scoring against West Ham late last month.

However, West Brom’s Director, Sales and Marketing, Adrian Wright, said it was not fair on the part of Zoopla to end the sponsorship because of the incident.

“Zoopla had a two-year contract and they did not want to extend it,” said Wright on the sidelines of a football promotion programme here on Tuesday.

Without divulging any details, Wright said he would negotiate with some top business houses. “For the first time, an Indian company’s name may be on the shirt of an EPL club,” he said.

Meanwhile, West Brom, in collaboration with Delhi-based coaching organisation Youth Football International (YFI), has started an initiative to provide youngsters from all walks of life an opportunity to play football.

The result:

West Brom 1 (Lugano 75) drew with Everton 1 (Mirallas 41).