Steve Clarke admitted Albion made hard work of beating Queens Park Rangers after taking an early 2-0 lead.
James Morrison headed in Shane Long’s excellent cross in the fifth minute to open the scoring. It was two in the 22nd minute when Zoltan Gera stroked home from close range.
But Albion gave QPR a lifeline when Adel Taarabt pulled one back with the visitor’s only real chance in the first half.
The goal gave the visitors impetus after the break and put Albion on the back foot. But Youssouf Mulumbu’s well-worked goal in the 85th minute looked to have finally sealed the points.
Rangers, however, scored a second in injury time when Esteban Granero curled home a fine goal from 18 yards.
Clarke said after the final whistle that the afternoon should’ve been far more comfortable for the Baggies after their excellent start.
“Yes, we probably made harder work of it than it should have been,” he said.
“From 2-0 up I thought we became a bit too open.
“Defensively it wasn’t a performance you would associate with us.
“Attacking-wise we played some fantastic football going forward and created a lot of chances in the game.
“It took a little bit longer to see the game out than it should have done.”
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