Tony Mowbray believes “two killer moments” proved crucial as his first game back as Albion’s Head Coach ended in a 2-0 defeat at Middlesbrough.
The hosts claimed all three Sky Bet Championship points at the Riverside Stadium courtesy of a first-half strike from Hayden Hackney and a fine finish from Ben Doak on the break close to the end.
The Baggies were second best in the opening half but were dominant in the second period as they pushed for a leveller.
Mason Holgate hit the post with a header and several shots flew either wide or over the bar, and the boss says he was frustrated with the end product.
Mowbray said: “I thought we started really well for ten or 15 minutes, but then we started to give up possession of the ball too easily.
“They were better than us in the last 30 minutes of the first half and created more opportunities. They managed to get through our press pretty comfortably at times.
“We looked at little bit leggy and we spoke at half time about being better with the ball because if we had the ball they couldn’t hurt us.
“That’s what happened in the second half. We were much, much better with the ball and spent most of the half in their half. Our inability to put the ball in the back of the net is the answer to why we’ve lost 2-0.
“I thought we were around their box quite a lot. End product is what football is about in my opinion and you’ve got to be good in both boxes and obviously we didn’t score the goal tonight. There’s the frustration for me and that’s where we need to work.
“We need to try and give the players confidence and belief because we’ve got a lot of technical footballers. Both of the wide boys are very talented, but we need someone who is going to score the goals from their deliveries and put the ball in the net.
“I think that’s glaring, and that’s not just me saying that as a head coach. I think all the fans will have the same frustration about putting the ball in the net.
“We have amazing, front end of the pitch talented footballers, but we need to have a guy who lives for scoring goals. Our talented players need to keep growing and developing and have that belief that they can score the goals.
“There are positives to take and there are things to work on.
“We were more of a threat in the second period, but I was disappointed with the last 30 minutes of the first half.
“It was a tight game and they found two killer moments. Shots that we had seemed to be flying over the bar, whereas they put two in the corner. There wasn’t much in it and that’s the frustration.”
