WEST BROM manager Roy Hodgson felt his side would have done better in their 2-0 loss to Everton had they taken a chance to equalise late in the first half when Paul Scharner drew a save out of Tim Howard and Chris Brunt fired the rebound wide off team-mate Shane Long.
“We missed a cutting edge. We went behind unfortunately with the deflected goal but were playing quite well up to half-time and could have had an equaliser,” he said.
“It was going to be very important to keep that going in the second half but the second goal killed that off.
“It gave Everton the confidence they needed to keep the ball and punish us on the counter-attack.”
West Brom are 14th, eight points clear of the relegation zone but Hodgson would like a few more to act as a safety net.
“I think we need about four more points and we’ve got seven games to get them,” he added.
Hodgson played down the fall-out between Foster and Peter Odemwingie at a corner late in the game.
“It is a storm in a teacup and hasn’t had any repercussions in the dressing room, which is most important.”
