Alan Irvine: 'We had enough chances, but our luck was out'

West Bromwich Albion boss Alan Irvine has blamed his side's lack of luck and missed chances following their 2-0 defeat away at Stoke City in the Premier League.

The travelling Baggies were downed by a brace from Potteries striker Mame Biram Diouf, leaving Irvine's side without a win in three games.

"We conceded two deflected goals. When you are not getting the breaks a lot of things go against you," said Irvine, according to BBC Sport.

"We created chances in the first half, we hit the post at 1-0 and we perhaps had a chance to score before they scored.But as you say, when your luck is out, your luck's out. We had enough chances but we didn't hit the target often enough. The nature and timing of the goals made it difficult for us.

"Without making mistakes we have ended up with a couple of cruel deflections that have made it difficult for Ben [Foster]. In the first half the fans saw the players had performed well and we had been on the front foot, but obviously the second half was different."

Albion currently occupy 16th spot in the league table, with only one point separating them from the relegation zone.