Bournemouth head coach Scott Parker admitted his side’s 2-0 defeat at West Bromwich caught him by surprise.

Defensive errors led to early goals from Alex Mowatt and Andy Carroll to end the Cherries’ five-match unbeaten run.

But they remain in second place and on course for automatic promotion with two games in hand on third-placed Huddersfield and a six-point cushion.

Alex Mowatt sent a bobbling drive beyond goalkeeper Mark Travers from 20 yards after Bournemouth failed to deal with Darnell Furlong’s deep cross in the eighth minute.

Five minutes later, a long kick from goalkeeper ...