West Brom boss Tony Pulis baffled by Watford defeat
Saturday 16 April 2016 19:19, UK
Tony Pulis struggled to come to terms with how his West Brom side failed to beat Watford on Saturday.
The Baggies slipped to a 1-0 defeat at The Hawthorns after Ben Watson's first-half strike, and saw two Saido Berahino penalties saved as the Hornets held on for a victory that moves Quique Sanchez Flores' side ahead of Albion in the Premier League.
"Anybody watching the game today would say how well we played, we just missed our chances," Pulis told Sky Sports. "I cannot believe we lost the game."
There was no denying West Brom's best chances fell for Berahino who, having seen a poor 68th-minute spot-kick kept out by Heurelho Gomes, was denied again from the spot three minutes from time by the inspired Brazilian.
But Pulis refused to attribute his side's defeat to the 22-year-old, instead opting to highlight the misses as valuable learning experiences for the England U21 international.
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"We played really well, everybody played well and Saido was a part of the team performance," the Albion boss said. "Good strikers miss penalties and chances.
"He was desperate to get the ball again for the second one and the lad has made a wonderful save on the second penalty. This happens, hopefully it will make him stronger and better for years to come."
Saturday's defeat saw West Brom extend their winless run to four games, with the team subjected to jeers from frustrated sections of the home support on the final whistle.
"We've had the best of the game and the fans are disappointed," Pulis said. "They are most probably as disappointed as we are because we played well today.
"I'm disappointed we haven't picked any points up from the Sunderland game. Norwich came here and beat us and we didn't think they deserved to.
"We went to Man City and played well and we played exceptionally well today - let's not kid ourselves, we should be talking about us winning today.
"The gods are not shining on us at the moment, it's a thin line between success and failure and unfortunately today it's gone against us.
"What we've got to do it pick them all up, we've got two 'easy' games against Arsenal and Tottenham."
