Their season was plunged into gloom, worry and recrimination by a second-half Ismaila Sarr strike which gave Crystal Palace a 1-0 success of which their own faltering season was in need.
The Seagulls somehow allowed Sarr the freedom of the Amex on a day of precious few clear chances.
And, when his shot found a way in despite decent contact from Bart Verbruggen, it was enough to settle a low-quality tussle.
Evan Guessand was the man who released Sarr after Albion lost the ball deep in their own half.
That was alarming from the hosts but even worse was the lack of response in the half-hour plus added time which remained.
Charalampos Kostoulas had a shot blocked by Dean Henderson after the ball broke for him running the inside-left channel.
But there was nothing else to trouble the comfort of Henderson’s afternoon.
By the end, long balls for Lewis Dunk looked the only ploy – and even they were hopelessly off target,
Boos rang out as Ferdi Kadioglu lofted the ball gently to Henderson and Olivier Boscagli sent one out for a goal kick. Or when build-up was slow.
There was dissent from the North Stand when Carlos Baleba was taken off and ironic cheers when Georginio Rutter was later substituted.
Then came chants of “You don’t what you’re doing” and a chorus of “Sacked in the morning”.
Albion made five in-game changes but it was hard to see any pattern or plan and Palace cruised to the points.
As Hurzeler and his team trudged off, the boos were mixed with some sympathetic applause.
But the mood probably ranks second only to the final home game under Sami Hyypia in terms of things turning ugly.
And Palace celebrations in the background just completed the whole miserable picture.