Crystal Palace defender Scott Dann has conceded that his side's poor start to the game was their downfall in their 2-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion.
Tony Pulis's side took the lead in the second minute at Selhurst Park when James Morrison found the net from a corner.
The Eagles struggled to get back into the game before Craig Gardner decided the match with a strike from distance to end Palace's four-game winning streak in the Premier League.
Dann told the club's official website: "We knew that we didn't really want to concede the first goal against one of the ex-manager's teams as you know that if they get the first goal it's always going to be difficult.
"After that we threw everything at them and it didn't fall for us, nothing went out way in the box and we pushed really hard to try and get that goal but we couldn't get back into the game.
"They made it difficult, there was no space anywhere on the pitch, especially in their own half, and we forced things a bit too much at times. We probably should have mixed up our play to try something a little bit different so we played into their hands but they defended well on the day."
Alan Pardew's men are 11th in the Premier League with 42 points from their 33 matches.
