ALBION missed TWO penalties in the final nine minutes as Roberto Di Matteo's first game in charge ended in defeat.
Debutant Simon Cox and Luke Moore incredibly both saw spot-kicks saved by heroic Histon keeper Danny Naisbitt in the 81st and 85th minutes respectively.
Stutes skipper Jamie Barker grabbed the only goal of the game with a 15-yard volley in the 64th minute.
It proved a good workout for Di Matteo's men as they kicked off their pre-season fixtures against a very competitive Blue Square Premier outfit.
Former loan signing Youssouf Mulumbu started just a day after completing a permanent £175,000 move from Paris Saint-Germain while new £1.9million striker Cox began on the bench.
Di Matteo selected a mixed squad for this trip to Cambridge, with senior squad members joining forces with first-year pros and Under-18 players.
Both teams understandably spent the opening exchanges trying to shake off their summer rustiness but Chris Brunt, who finished last term in fine goalscoring form, almost picked up from where he left off.
As early as the third minute, the Northern Ireland international exchanged a clever one-two with Borja Valero on the edge of the box before firing just over.
First-half skipper Dean Kiely was the first goalkeeper called into action on 9, when he did well to clutch Josh Simpson's first-time 18-yard drive from Danny Wright's neat lay-off.
The action swung straight to the other end and young striker Lateef Elford-Alliyu came within a whisker of getting on the end of Valero's centre.
Moments later, Stutes central midfielder Simpson again tried his luck from distance but failed to trouble Kiely's goal.
On 19, Albion, wearing their new home strip for the first time, only half-cleared a corner and Histon striker Wright turned inside David Worrall 20 yards out and smashed the ball a couple of yards wide of Kiely's far post.
Histon were certainly getting in among Albion but Wright was again well off target with a weak shot from the edge of the box.
After a scrappy passage of play, Brunt created the best chance of the half when his ball over the top fell perfectly for Valero, who had sprung the offside trap.
The Spaniard allowed the ball to drop over his shoulder before sending an acute drive inches wide of the far post from 15 yards.
The half ended with a flurry of activity. Craig Beattie saw a long-range curler sail just over the Histon bar before, at the other end, Nathaniel Percival-Knight's point-blank header from Gareth Gwillim's corner flashed inches over.
Di Matteo rang TEN changes at half-time, handing Cox his first Albion outing. Only the energetic Worrall stayed on.
Histon started the second half brightly and Luke Daniels and Paul Downing somehow combined on the goalline to prevent Lee Roache bundling in fellow sub Kieron Le Bon's centre.
Stutes skipper Barker went even closer on the hour mark when his first-time 20-yard drive beat Daniels all ends up before cannoning off the inside of the left-hand post to safety.
Cox registered his first effort on goal two minutes later. The ex-Swindon marksman turned just inside the box and shot straight at Naisbitt from Dwayne Samuels' pinpoint pass.
But it was Histon who broke the deadlock.
Albion struggled to clear a 64th-minute corner and Barker expertly steered the loose ball home on the volley, guiding it through a sea of legs and into the far right-hand corner from 15 yards.
The Baggies built up a head of steam as the game entered its final quarter.
Gianni Zuiverloon should have done better when he side-footed over from 16 yards before Naisbitt kept out second-half skipper Moore's scuffed shot with his legs after good work by Romaine Sawyers.
From Sam Mantom's resulting corner, Shelton Martis was just off target with a far post header.
It was all Albion now and Naisbitt showed terrific reflexes to palm away Mantom's 20-yard pile-driver from Martis' throughball.
Sawyers then charged at the Histon defence and fired a ferocious 20-yard drive just wide.
Albion had a glorious chance to restore parity on 81 when Histon sub David Obaze tripped Samuels in the box with his first touch.
Cox smashed the resulting penalty towards the bottom left-hand corner, only for Naisbitt to somehow divert it over the bar with a truly stunning save.
There was more Albion agony two minutes later when Elford-Alliyu saw the ball ricochet off his shin and spin wide from two yards after Sawyers' drive from Moore's pull-back had clipped the busy Naisbitt.
Incredibly, Albion won another penalty five minutes from time when Matthew Langston hauled down Cox.
It was Moore who tried his luck from 12 yards this time, but the result was the same, with Naisbitt easily holding his weak spot-kick.
HISTON (4-4-2): Naisbitt; Pope (Obaze 79), Langston, Tann (Bygrave 64), Gwillim; Barker (C), Oyebanjo (Tudor HT), Simpson (Kennedy 56), Knight-Percival; Frew (Roache HT), Wright (Le Bon HT). Sub not used: Welch.
ALBION (FIRST-HALF 4-4-2): Kiely (C); Worrall, Barnett, Olsson, Cech; Knight, Mulumbu, Valero, Brunt; Beattie, Elford-Alliyu.
ALBION (SECOND-HALF 4-4-2): Daniels; Zuiverloon, Downing, Meite (Mantom 65), Samuels; Worrall (Elford-Alliyu 65), Martis, Kim, Sawyers; Cox, Moore (C).
Sub not used: Wood.
GOALS: HISTON - Barker (64).
BOOKINGS: None.
REFEREE: M Deadman (Chatteris)
ATTENDANCE: 1,058.
ALBION STARMAN: Chris Brunt.
PIC: PAYING THE PENALTY...Cox lets fly from the spot but his effort was denied by Naisbitt
