ALBION 0 NORWICH CITY 0

A point, a clean sheet and a decent performance halted Albion's losing run.

But was this draw against a side living down to their billing as Premier League back-markers enough to be considered a turning point?

That, after all, is what we were looking for as we headed to the Amex on Saturday.

A season-changer, a momentum-turner, a morale-lifter after six successive defeats in total and four home games without a goal.

We didn’t get it. But we got more attacking football than we have been used to.

Nor did we get the sucker punch or smash-and-grab which would have plunged a faltering season into the depths of despair.

A 0-0 draw at home to a hopeless bottom team is no reason for celebration.

There were a few boos at the full-time whistle.

But there was then decent applause, just as there had been for Neal Maupay when he was taken off after missing four good chances, one of them a penalty.

So there were positives. It could have been worse.

Team and crowd upped their game in the second half.

But was it all enough to feel like the turning point we all wanted?

That was the question I put to Graham Potter towards the end of what was quite an upbeat press conference with the Albion head coach soon after the game.

He replied: “Externally, you mean? We can’t worry about what people think on the outside.

“From the inside, we had a really positive two weeks.

“We know we have been in a bad run and we know we haven’t done as well as we would have liked.

“We played Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham in those six games so they are not the most straightforward matches.

“But we haven’t played as well as we would have liked so we have to take that.

“The training we have had has been really good and the performance was good.

“The clean sheet was important, stopping the losing run was important.

“It is our job to try and keep that going forward.”

It felt like one of those days which might be better judged when we know what follows.

We will see whether Albion build on it with great results in tough games which follow or whether it remains a lone point in a long slump.

Potter saw it as a step forward.

He said: “We have eight games to go and we want to get as many points as we can.

“We have got a young group, some players who are in their first Premier League season with crowds and all that comes with that.

“There are players who are going to get better with experience.

“I believe there is lot of positive and things to be encouraged by but, of course, I understand at the moment we are in a run which is not so positive at all. But today was a step in the right direction, I think.”

There was quiet unease around the Amex on Saturday.

The crowd, disaffected after just one home win since September, took a while to get into the game.

When they raised their voices, they demanded urgency and entertainment.

They urged Tariq Lamptey to run at defenders rather than check back inside.

They called for shots from around the edge of the box.

Maupay responded early on when it looked like he was initially thinking of a pass but his effort dipped not far over the bar.

In the technical area, Potter applauded his positive intentions.

Alexis Mac Allister was willing to have a go, as was Solly March.

Potter appreciated what the goal-starved fans wanted but suggested more patience was required at times.

He said: “The build-up suggests you are getting there.

“And the longer you go, you can hear the crowd going, ‘Shoot, shoot, shoot’.

“That sometimes is a challenge for the players because sometimes there is an opportunity to shoot, sometimes there is a chance for the block and then the transition.

“One more pass gets you in a better position but, if you miss the pass, you should have shot.

“We are going through a bit of pain, a bit of suffering so that does affect the confidence.”

That suffering increased when Maupay fired his penalty too high after a needless handball by Sam Byram when Pascal Gross crossed.

NEAL MAUPAY TIPPED TO COME BOUNCING BACK

Maupay had earlier miskicked at the end of a move which he sparked and was carried on by Leandro Trossard and March.

Tim Krul’s stunning tip-over denied Joel Veltman when he headed goalwards as a second-half corner was helped on.

Maupay twice more shot wide, Mac Allister kept trying his luck, testing Krul near the end.

And Lewis Dunk headed narrowly wide from a corner as the onslaught continued.

There were 31 goal attempts from the Seagulls in total but just four were on target.

Norwich offered nothing until Milot Rashica fired way off target on a late counter.

Albion: Sanchez; Veltman, Dunk, Cucurella; Lamptey, Gross, Mac Allister, March 6 (Moder 83, Sarmiento 88); Trossard 7; Maupay 6 (Mwepu 78), Welbeck 6. Subs not used: Steele, Bissouma, Lallana, Alzate, Duffy, Offiah.

Yellow card: Lamptey (68) foul.

Norwich: Krul; Byram, Hanley, Gibson, Giannoulis; Normann, Lees-Melou (Rowe 60), Gilmour, McLean (Dowell 90+2); Rashica (Tzolis 80), Pukki 6.5. Subs not used: Gunn, Zimmermann, Sorensen, Tomkinson, Kamara, Springett.

Yellow card: McLean (81) foul.

Referee: Simon Hooper.