With the vast majority of the starting eleven having played at least some part in the previous three games, it was almost inevitable that tiredness and sloppiness would creep in to the performance, but that was exacerbated by the absence of both Inamoto and Wallwork, the two players whose good form has been instrumental in Albion's recent revival in fortunes.

Darren Carter has done reasonably well in the past couple of games, seemingly far more comfortable in a central midfield role rather than the wide position in which he was employed earlier in the season, and he tried hard against Villa but he was lacking support on all sides. Kamara and Greening were both off colour, with Kamara in particular guilty of wasting possession time and time again, but the main culprit in midfield was Steve Watson who didn't seem to able to judge the weight or direction of any pass he attempted. In fact, the only thing he got right all afternoon was the crisp volley that brought Albion level with fourteen minutes remaining. The short simple passing of Ronnie Wallwork was missed far more than the skills of Junichi Inamoto, although Ina may have been able to unlock the Villa defence a little more readily than either Kamara, Greening or Carter.

In contrast, the Aston Villa midfield, buoyed by an unbeaten festive programme, seemed unaffected by the lack of rest between games and were much quicker to react and sharper in the tackle with McCann and Davis particularly impressive.

Albion may have been able to survive the poor form of the midfield alone and escaped with a point, but there were problems in other areas as well. Up front, Kanu tried hard but was really fighting a lone battle as his strike partner, Nathan Ellington, was just not at the races. He was wandering about the pitch with little purpose for much of the game and seemed simply unable to win anything in the air.

Furthermore, the defence was also showing signs of fatigue. Robinson got caught once or twice and Albrechtsen rarely showed the pace that has worried defences so many times this season. Clement was suffering in a similar manner to Watson as his passing and control was erratic. Only Curtis Davies was showing anything like his best form and he was constantly getting his defensive partner out of trouble.

At half time, I was hopeful that Albion might get away with it. Aston Villa had been the best side by some distance in the first period but had failed to take any of the chances that had come their way, with Luke Moore's miss from six yards the biggest let off.

But then, at the start of the second period, Villa struck. It developed initially after Clement miscontrolled a simple hoof forward and it fell into the path of Baros. He was well-tacked by Davies, but the ball fell for Villa again. The Albion defence seemed sluggish as Baros was fed out on the left and he stood the ball up to the back post when Davis ran in to head home. Further guilt should be attributed to Jonathan Greening who failed to track the young Ulsterman's run allowing him a free header.

From that point on, however, Albion seemed to wake up and they spent much of the remainder of game on the attack. Carter and Watson seemed to find some fresh reserves of energy and both fullbacks were working the wings well, but there were precious few clear cut chances. But they did merit the equaliser when it came.

A free kick was flung into the box and Stuart Taylor came for it but got nowhere - the ball broke for Steve Watson and he executed a perfect volley that somehow made it's way through the gaggle of players in the six yard box and into the net.

The joy was short lived however. Another hoof forward from Villa was met by Clement's head but it went straight to a Villa player and they broke. Davies made a good tackle once again but, with five Albion players deep in their own box as the ball broke out, Davis picked up the ball and broker forward. Robinson came out to challenge but missed the ball and the free kick was given.

Davis's shot was goalbound and would've found the net had Watson not stopped it with his arm - he attempted to disguise it with his head, but having seen the TV pictures, it was a definite hand ball. Robson's gripe is that Rob Styles allowed Villa to take the free kick quickly having denied Albion the opportunity to do so throughout the game.

Baros dispatched the penalty and Villa took the points. Carter did come close with a speculative long range effort that would've brought the house down, but it was not to be. Two late substitutions by Robson were far too late to make any sort of impact and, in the case of Kevin Campbell's, completely pointless.

In my opinion, the absence of Inamoto and Wallwork was the key reason for the defeat as I believe both would've played if fit - this was compounded by some jaded performances and the team was just not good enough to cope with that many players being out of form.

Most Albion fans would've taken four points from the four holiday games, and the team have ended up with three and they remain outside the relegation zone. With a three point gap having opened up between Albion and Middlesbrough, who now occupy 16th spot, it is important that Albion take advantage of the relatively easy run of games that are coming up.

The loss of Kanu and Kamara will hopefully be countered by the return to fitness of Gera and Inamoto and, perhaps, one or two additions during the transfer window.

From mid November, Albion have picked up eleven points from nine games which is a mini-recovery at best, but has at least put the Baggies in a position from which to build. The next six Premiership games will be crucial but they first face a testing FA Cup tie against Championship runaway leaders Reading.