Graham Potter was left frustrated after Albion conceded two goals in the last six minutes as they went down 2-0 to Aston Villa at Villa Park.
Late goals from Ollie Watkins and Tyrone Mings meant Steven Gerrard made a winning start to his reign as Villa boss, after Albion had been the better side for spells of a tight game with few clear chances.
Potter said, "It was a decent performance in a difficult environment with Steven [Gerrard's] first game in charge. With the enthusiasm of the Holte End Villa Park is a tough place to come, there was a lot of motivation for them.
"If you analyse the whole game, until the 84th minute I was really happy with the performance and the team looking likely to win was us. I thought we controlled it as well as we could. After 83 minutes I didn't feel we were under any danger but there's a mistake, a turnover of possession, a good finish and suddenly it's 1-0 and a totally different atmosphere.
"We gave ourselves a chance to win the game but we didn't score and Aston Villa did."
Albion have lost two and drawn the other five of their last seven games and Potter says the search to turn more of those draws into wins remains a challenge for his squad.
It's about taking the next step, how do we turn more of those draws into wins. But it's how we can do it as a collective, it's not about individuals. We have to do it together."
Potter was pleased with the performance of Jason Steele, who made his Premier League debut for Albion in goal.
"Jason was excellent, he did everything we asked of him. He made some saves and produced some good distribution."