TWENTY ONE and counting.

Albion might think that a new striker is priority – but 21 games have passed since Albion kept a clean sheet.

I make that 1890 minutes.

And once again, defensive demons were to pop up to bite.

Gabriel Tamas had one of those games he won’t want to watch again.

An own goal gifted Blackburn the lead just before half-time before his failure to close down Junior Hoilett allowed the Blackburn man to score a beauty just a few minutes into the second-half.

A lack of finesse at the top end of the pitch – not helped by an outstanding Paul Robinson – underlined the need for a striker.

Defensively, the right side is a major cause of concern. Tamas had been off form for a while playing on the left of the two centre-halves.

On Sunday, he was restored to the right but it wasn’t his day again. The same could be said for Gonzalo Jara, who also struggled.

Jonas Olsson improved the shape of the backline but there is a fragility about Albion’s defence which will trouble them for the remainder of this season unless it is addressed.

Boaz Myhill kept the score down at times, though the same could be said at the other end. Blackburn, though worthy of their win, also had a touch of good fortune along the way, not least when Mark Clattenburg opted to award a second-half free-kick when a penalty would have been the correct call after Peter Odemwingie was brought down.

But it wasn’t enough. Inevitably heads dropped and the shoulders drooped. Body language in itself looked an issue, with the visitors draining of confidence, with one or two exceptions – notably Jerome Thomas, who produced a vibrant and productive display down the left.

Yet Albion, featuring a starting line-up made up of 11 different nationalities, started smoothly.

It took just 33 seconds for their first chance when James Morrison won control of the ball. The Scotland midfielder, watched by national boss Craig Levein, put the ball into Odemwingie’s range, who snapped at his shot instinctively.

The shot was low and powerful but brilliant saved by Robinson. The resulting corner amounted to little but it was to set the tone for the opening stages with Roberto Di Matteo’s men looking energetic.

They were to go close in the 13th minute when a looping cross from the left was destined for Robinson’s hands, only for Paul Scharner to nip in front of the goalkeeper and nudge it back into Thomas’s feet. The Albion winger squeezed a shot goal-bound but Robinson managed to get a touch to the ball, deflecting it away.

As the game approached half an hour, the visitors started to squeeze Albion further into their own half. Martin Olsson saw a low shot saved. It was a brilliant stop by Myhill, who would have been unsighted until the very last moment, given the number of shirts in front of him.

The Baggies restored some of their early dominance late on in the first half. Thomas seized on Michel Salgado’s slip and peeled away into the box. His shot took a deflection against Christopher Samba’s foot and flew into Robinson’s side-netting.

But it wasn’t to be. Tamas was to score his first of the season. Sadly at the wrong end.

David Dunn’s 40th minute cross came in sharply. Tamas and Nikola Kalinic were to rise for the ball but it was the Romanian defender who got the touch – sending a powerful header past Myhill.