Steve Bruce believes Tuesday’s Carabao Cup clash at Derby County could have “gone either way”.
The Rams won the second-round fixture at Pride Park courtesy of Louie Sibley’s first-half effort from the edge of the box.
And the boss was disappointed to see his side miss a number of good opportunities, saying the Baggies had enough of them to “win two cup ties”.
Bruce said: “It’s a poor result in the end.
“We’ve had enough chances to win two games and missed them all. How many times have I stood here and said that.
“I thought from minute one we were sloppy in possession and we haven’t defended well enough.
“It was an opportunity for the younger players to see what it’s like playing with the senior players and to know how difficult it is, so in that case it’s experience for them.
“We’re disappointed that we’re out the cup. We all wanted a cup run, but sadly it wasn’t to be.
“I don’t think there’s any question that it could have gone either way tonight.
“We should have been 2-0 up early on before Derby got their goal.
“We missed that clinical side once again and that’s the frustration for us because some of our build-up play was really good.
“We don’t score often enough. The floodgates opened at the weekend, but we’ve come away again from a game in which we haven't scored in despite creating lots of opportunities. We could have won two cup ties.
“What I will say is a well done to all the supporters. They got behind the team throughout and we’re really disappointed we couldn’t get a result for them.”
