Tony Mowbray says Blackburn Rovers deserved their victory at The Hawthorns on Wednesday night.
The Baggies, who delivered a below-par performance, were beaten by two second-half strikes from forward Makhtar Gueye.
Albion struggled to create meaningful opportunities and Mowbray admitted it was an incredibly frustrating encounter.
The boss said: “Blackburn are very well-organised defensively and they have been all season. They made it hard to get through lines and they man-to-man marked in midfield. They made it really difficult.
“We found it difficult tonight. Our wide players couldn’t eliminate their full-backs and couldn’t get behind them. It was a frustrating evening for us.
“I didn’t see any threat from them going forward in the first half, and yet they started the second half scoring from a set-play which is frustrating for us.
“We were huffing and puffing then, trying to get back into the game. They then go and score on a break. It was a great diagonal ball which got set back and then they scored.
“It was always going to be difficult to score two against a team who put so many men behind the ball. You have to congratulate them. They did a good job. They came and they were solid and worked hard. It’s been a difficult week for them but they got what they deserved.
“They were really up for the game and I felt we were too before it. Like I say, we huffed and puffed without really creating any great chances. We dominated the game and played most of it in their half. We have to find a way to be better and create more opportunities.
“Ultimately, I don’t think the gameplan worked. We played with wide players and we were hoping we’d be able to switch the play and get one-v-one and drive into the box and get bodies into the box. That didn’t really happen. They doubled up very well in the wide areas.
“I think sometimes it’s easier to try and stop teams rather than be the creative team and score the goals. They managed to stop us pretty well tonight and then went on to score two themselves.”
