Pride in safe hands at the Hoult end

West Bromwich Albion 0 Aston Villa

Not for the first time this season, a huge expenditure of energy by Gary Megson's determined Albion side failed to yield the merited rewards at the Hawthorns, leaving last season's First Division runners-up in last but one place in the Premiership after eight matches without a win.

There was a proper derby atmosphere about a match that the Black Country, at least, had awaited with keen anticipation after a 17-year hiatus, but Villa, who have scored only one away goal all season, contributed little to it, even though they could have left with all three points had Dion Dublin not squandered a second-half penalty, saved by Russell Hoult.

Villa's key player, too, was their goalkeeper. Peter Enckelman, whose error contri-buted to his side's mauling by Birmingham in their other derby, redeemed himself with several critical saves, the best of which spared team-mate Jlloyd Samuel the embarrassment of an own goal.

Megson bemoaned the "lack of quality" in his team, who he acknowledges were promoted through work-rate and willpower, but Villa were hardly better. If little else, they can at least say they have not lost in their last nine meetings with Albion in this historic fixture – its 113-year existence predates both the Manchester and Merseyside derbies.

But there was more at stake for the visiting side than merely maintaining that supremacy, which made the flatness of their performance all the more disappointing.

There was little indication that Taylor's team had drawn much confidence from their recently acquired goalscoring habit. The three they had put past Fulham last weekend almost doubled their Premiership tally. However, the combination of Dublin and Marcus Allback – Juan Pablo Angel (recovering from a hamstring injury) and Darius Vassell (chest infection) were left on the bench – offered little threat.

Easily the liveliest forward on the field was Jason Roberts. The 24-year-old forced two decent saves from Enckelman as well as causing mayhem with a blistering run from the centre circle that ended with one defender on his backside, another facing the wrong way and which would have raised the roof had the shot at the end of it not sailed high over the bar. "You had to admire the run but, in reality, he missed a sitter," Megson said.

Villa should have had a penalty when Phil Gilchrist appeared to trip Mark Delaney late in the first half but a Villa goal then would have been harsh and against the run of play. In the second half it was Albion, noticeably, who continued to show the greater energy and conviction.

Andy Johnson, a box-to-box player of the kind all managers admire, epitomised Albion's spirit. But there were others, the attacking wing back Igor Balis, for example, whose determination impressed. Balis, cutting in from the right, forced Enckelman into another save before the Villa keeper came up with a splendid back flip to stop a stray header by Samuel ending up in his own net.

Only when Taylor made a double substitution on the hour, replacing Samuel with Lee Hendrie and Allback with Vassell, did Villa begin to pose a serious threat. The penalty referee Dermot Gallagher awarded for Darren Moore's challenge on Gareth Barry might have redressed the balance as far as Taylor saw it. However, though Hoult guessed incorrectly which way Dublin's spot-kick would go, he kept his eyes on the ball and saved with his legs.

West Bromwich Albion 0 Aston Villa 0

Attendance: 27,091