BARTOSZ Slusarski's double in Albion's 3-0 Pontin's Holidays League Cup win over Sheffield United took his tally to six goals in as many reserves outings.

The Polish hitman started and finished the scoring with goals in the 13^th and 73^rd minutes in the Aggborough encounter.

Sherjill MacDonald's 50^th-minute strike was sandwiched in between as he notched for the sixth successive second-string clash.

And Leon Barnett partnered Shelton Martis at the heart of the defence as they recorded the Baggies' first clean-sheet in 12 games in front of Tony Mowbray, who was watching from the stands.

Neither side took the initiative in the opening ten minutes.

The first effort on goal did not come until the 11th minute when Jack Compton's right-wing cross was met by Martis' back-post header, which Marc Furniss saved.

But just two minutes later the Baggies took the lead when Slusarski played a one-two with Roman Bednar before seeing his shot squeeze under Furniss and creep over the goalline.

United took a short corner in the 20th minute and James Ashmore headed wide from the ensuing cross when he should at least have hit the target.

Compton played a short corner to Jared Hodgkiss in the 31st minute and his ball was headed back across goal by Barnett before Martis saw his goalbound prod deflected wide.

At the other end Barnett's slip from Hodgkiss' throw-in gifted the ball to United's Liban Abdi, who curled his shot over from 12 yards.

Three minutes before the break Craig Shakespeare's men produced the best move of the game when Bednar's crossfield ball found Hodgkiss.

The Baggies right-back played in MacDonald down the right and he picked out Bednar, who clipped the ball to the back post, only for Slusarski to head wide.

Two minutes into the second-half Martis linked up with Slusarski to give the Poish hitman a sight of goal - but his shot was deflected wide.

MacDonald's blistering pace again caused havoc in the 50^th minute and he cut inside to power a 25-yard effort past the flat-footed Furniss to double the lead.

On the hour-mark MacDonald travelled across the pitch from right to left before picking out Bednar, whose strike from a tight angle on the right flew over.

Substitute Sebastien Lake-Gaskin collected the ball from a throw-in in the 73^rd minute before dinking the ball into the box for Slusarski to make it 3-0 with a close-range header.

Two minutes later Martin Donnelly burst past Scott Mason and squared the ball into the six-yard box but Barnett's last-ditch challenge managed to clear the danger, with several Blades players waiting to pounce.

Four minutes from time David Worrall almost added a fourth goal for the hosts when he drove forward from the halfway line and let fly with a 25-yard strike, which Furniss just managed to tip away high to his left.

ALBION: Steele, Hodgkiss, Tininho, Mason, Martis, Barnett, MacDonald (S Morrison 72), Worrall, Slusarski, Bednar (Lake-Gaskin 72), Compton (Nichols 60). Subs not used: Bruce, Knight.

UNITED: Furniss, Lowton, Binnion, Wedgbury, Chanot, Ashmore, Eagers, Kerry, Abdi (Boden 82), Naughton, Donnelly. Subs not used: Tahar, Booker, Reid, Quinn.

GOALS: ALBION - Slusarski (13, 73), MacDonald (50).

REFEREE: A Watts.

ALBION STARMAN: Shelton Martis. 

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