Analysis: Time for West Brom to turn gutsy defeats into points
In the end, it was yet another gutsy defeat to one of the big boys.
Manchester United joined Arsenal and Manchester City on the list of top six teams who have been given a scare by the Baggies this season, only to come out triumphant in the end.
Ok, draws at Wembley and Anfield should not be sniffed at, and on another day, Albion would have picked up a point here.
United were not at the races for large parts of the game, but the frustrating thing is the Baggies failed to capitalise.
They were poor in the first half, lacking ideas when they had possession in promising positions.
Grzegorz Krychowiak and Jake Livermore had no creative spark, and even though Pardew's team looked more threatening breaking at pace from deep, it was only slightly more worrying for United.
They started slowly too though, in a drab first half that didn't deserve two goals.
But when Romelu Lukaku drifted onto Kieran Gibbs for the second time in the match, the visitors took the lead.
Gibbs had pulled off a stunning defensive header minutes earlier to deny Lukaku, and that should have sent alarm bells ringing, but the former Albion loanee was allowed to fall back on the full-back once again and the Baggies paid the price.
Eight minutes later it was two, although Jesse Lingard's deflected goal was slightly fortuitous.
But if United were lucky to be two-nil up at half-time, Albion probably deserved the scoreline.
Refreshingly, Pardew admitted afterwards that he got his team selection wrong, saying he should have played more fresh legs following a battling goalless draw at Anfield on Wednesday.
Shouldering the blame like that will go down well with supporters and players alike, it was something his predecessor rarely did.
And Gareth Barry made an impact at half-time when he came on, and started to pass forwards, incisively.
Oliver Burke, the raw 20-year-old debutant who slowed glimpses of his pace and power, nearly turned one of Barry's passes into a goal for Salomon Rondon or James McClean, only for the brilliant Antonio Valencia to thwart them.
But it was Pardew's third substitution, Chris Brunt, who made the biggest impact.
The Northern Irishman has been criminally overlooked this season in a team traditionally built on set-piece proficiency.
In the first half, Krychowiak duffed a corner into the first man. When Brunt was on the pitch, Albion nearly scored twice from his set-pieces.
It wasn't just dead balls either. In open play, he slipped Rondon through and put a cross on Rodriguez's head.
Fans have been calling for Brunt to be reinstated to the side, and his substitution received a cheer from the Hawthorns faithful.
After this performance, he must surely start at struggling Stoke.
Because that is a far more relevant barometer than this game of the strides Pardew has or hasn't made.
Albion can count themselves unlucky after their second half performance at The Hawthorns.
They could easily have equalised late on, and should have had a penalty when James McClean was bundled over by Ashley Young.
But the Baggies have raised themselves for big six sides already this season, it is when they need to dictate to the opposition they seem to struggle.
And valiantly losing against the big boys, as encouraging as it may be, will not keep you up.
Wins will, and this record-breaking team who have now gone 17 games without tasting victory desperately need to get over the line somehow in any match.
At some stage, all that potential has to turn into points.
