West Brom manager Tony Pulis rued the lack of a finishing touch after his side were beaten 2-0 by 10-man Watford on Tuesday.
M'Baye Niang and Troy Deeney scored in either half to secure victory for the Hornets, who had Miguel Britos sent off in the 65th minute.
Nacer Chadli spurned the Baggies' best chances, twice missing the target from good positions and also hitting the post with a free-kick.
"We needed a break in front of goal," Pulis told Sky Sports. "Chadli could have scored a hat-trick with a bit more fortune or better play from him.
"The one in the first couple of the minutes where he is through, he normally puts that away, the one he has hit the post from the free-kick is inches away from going in, and then in the second half the volley that would get us back in the game.
"We started ok and they controlled it for about 30 minutes then we came back into it. Their player getting sent off gave us the opportunity and we had a lot of crosses and possession without really testing the goalkeeper."
Pulis stuck with the same starting XI that earned a 0-0 draw at Manchester United on Saturday.
Asked if there were any tired legs, he said: "I don't want to make excuses. The quality in the final third could have been better and if we had that and a bit of luck to get that goal it would have set the team up.
"Goals change games. It was always going to be a tough game. We showed a lot more thought and put more pressure on them in the second half. We needed a goal, even at 2-0 it would have been a different game."
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