Bournemouth 2-1 West Bromwich Albion
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Junior Stanislas struck for the second weekend in a row, having scored against Tottenham six days earlier
Alan Pardew acknowledged that his West Brom side are "nearing the last-chance saloon" after a late Junior Stanislas free-kick condemned them to a seventh straight Premier League defeat.
Albion are 10 points from a position of safety with seven games to play, as opponents Bournemouth came from a goal down to end their own four-match winless run.
"It's tough for my players in particular," Pardew said. "We got in a great position, made a couple of errors and got punished, which has been the story of our season.
"Without it being our last chance, it's nearing the last chance saloon. It was a galling way to end the game."
Jay Rodriguez looked to have set up Albion for only a fourth league victory of the season when he spun to hook in Salomon Rondon's downward header early in the second half.
But Pardew's side lost their concentration amid a defensive reshuffle following the substitution of captain Jonny Evans, falling to a defeat that the head coach called "heartbreaking".
Jordon Ibe took advantage as he cut in from the left to bounce a shot past keeper Ben Foster from 25 yards.
Then Stanislas, who had been off-target with a couple of free-kicks from a similar distance earlier in the match, floated a perfect shot over the wall and inside the post from the edge of the area.
Pardew played down speculation about his own future, saying: "I get asked every week. When you're losing, it's difficult. I'm contracted here for another three years and I'm going to keep fighting until such time I'm told not to."
Albion's discipline falls apart
Jay Rodriguez is now West Brom's outright leading scorer, with nine goals this season
Few people seriously believe West Brom will avoid relegation after a dreadful winter, beset by abysmal results on the pitch and embarrassment off it too.
Pardew, appointed to replace the sacked Tony Pulis in November, is widely expected to leave the club at the end of the season, with Leicester assistant manager Michael Appleton reportedly the favoured candidate, external to take over.
The important thing for Albion at present is to restore a bit of pride - and for much of the afternoon, they looked as if they would do that.
A very disciplined set-up of five defenders and three deep-lying midfielders did much to frustrate the home side's attack; Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson touched the ball only four times in the first half.
In addition, they were dangerous on the break, with Rondon seeing two first-half headed chances saved by Asmir Begovic.
They looked fairly comfortable until Evans - feeling the effects of the illness that forced him to miss last weekend's home defeat by Leicester - was replaced with a quarter-of-an-hour to play.
Pardew rejigged his defence in the substitution, with Matt Phillips taking over at wing-back. It gave Ibe the chance to equalise within seconds, and Stanislas' free-kick made it an even more painful day.
Even then, the visitors might have saved a point in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Phillips headed a Kieran Gibbs cross towards goal in a scramble, but Charlie Daniels booted off the line.
Bournemouth nudge towards safety
Stanislas' free-kick secured Bournemouth's first victory since 3 February, when they defeated Stoke
A post-Christmas run of seven league matches without defeat - including wins over Arsenal and Chelsea - had gone a long way towards lifting Bournemouth clear of trouble.
However, a sequence of four matches without victory had allowed some unease to creep back in, and that was evident in a laboured display against West Brom.
Eddie Howe's side struggled to create clear chances during the first 75 minutes, and were often left passing the ball sideways around 40 yards from the Albion goal in the vain hope of finding an opening.
Joshua King had a first-half penalty appeal rejected when he went to ground claiming that Ahmed Hegazi had tugged his shirt, with referee Graham Scott unmoved.
Before Ibe's equaliser, it looked as if that winless run would stretch to five matches for a team who, despite 17 efforts on goal, did not trouble Foster anywhere near enough until the closing stages.
Howe acknowledged that his team did not play well, but they found a way to victory - and with 36 points to their name, they probably only need one more win from their final seven matches to secure a fourth successive Premier League campaign.
The Bournemouth manager said: "I'll take any way to win at this stage of the season. We played very well against Tottenham and Leicester and didn't win either of those games, but we didn't play well today and we won this one.
"I want as many points as we can get. We knew West Brom would make it tough. They've got a lot of experienced Premier League players but we had to find a way to win without playing well - it moves us closer to safety."
Man of the match - Jordon Ibe (Bournemouth)
In addition to his goal, Ibe made more tackles (four) than any other Bournemouth player, while nobody on the pitch had more shots (four)
Albion's 24-point drop - the key stats
Bournemouth have picked up 16 points from losing positions in the Premier League this season, more than any other side.
West Brom have lost 24 points from leading positions in the top flight this season, more than any other team.
The Cherries have lost just one of their last seven Premier League games on home soil, winning four and drawing two.
That 24-point haul is also the most the Baggies have ever lost from leading positions in a single Premier League campaign.
Jay Rodriguez has netted three goals in his four Premier League appearances against Bournemouth; against no other side has he scored more (having also scored three against Newcastle and Stoke).
Rodriguez's goal was West Brom's first away from home in the league in 402 minutes.
Jordon Ibe has been directly involved in five goals in his last eight top-flight games with Bournemouth (two goals, three assists), after managing just three in his previous 44 with the Cherries (three assists).
Junior Stanislas has scored four goals in his last seven Premier League games, as many as he managed in his previous 19.
What's next?
After the international break, Bournemouth go to Watford on Saturday, 31 March, the same day that West Brom host Burnley (both 15:00 BST).