ROBERTO Di Matteo admitted Albion's poor defending gifted QPR the three points in a disappointing 3-1 defeat at Loftus Road.
Ex-Baggies loan striker Jay Simpson and Matthew Connolly pounced on the visitors' mistakes to give the Hoops a two-goal lead after 18 minutes.
Chris Brunt pulled one back nine minutes before the break to take him into double figures for the season and give his team a lifeline.
But as Albion strived to find a second-half leveller they allowed substitute Akos Buzsaky to punish them with another tame strike.
"We started really badly," said Di Matteo.
"If you give away two goals in the first 20 minutes it becomes very difficult to win a game.
"We said before the game to keep it nice and tight in the first 20 minutes to give us confidence.
"But we did exactly the opposite.
"It's a team performance.
"Yes, we made individual mistakes, but there are 11 players on the pitch.
"The first two goals were terrible to give away.
"You can't allow that against any team."
The reverse in West London also saw the Baggies slip nine points behind leaders Newcastle, who thrashed ten-man Barnsley 6-1 at St James' Park.
And Albion saw Nottingham Forest leapfrog them into second spot by a point after their last-gasp 1-0 victory over Swansea at the City Ground.
But Di Matteo is looking for a positive response from his men in their game in hand over Forest when they entertain Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday (ko 7.45pm).
"We need to pick ourselves up psychologically and keep believing in what we do," he added.
"And we can't keep giving away sloppy goals.
"One week the results go for you, the next they don't.
"But it's more about us than the opposition."
