Eppleton Colliery Football Ground

Monday 29th August 2022 -  19:00
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Key Events

Richard Beale

Albion PL2 boss Richard Beale is excited to see his players return to Premier League 2 football when they make the long trip up to Sunderland on Monday night (ko 7pm).

A strong first-half display in their last outing wasn’t enough to continue the young Baggies’ good start to the season, falling to defeat against Southampton.

Akeel Higgins, who netted in the 4-1 defeat on the south coast, has been one of several U18s players blooded in Beale’s side since the start of the campaign.

Akeel Higgins scored in Albion PL2's last game

And he hopes the blend of determined youngsters and hungry strikers can help Albion’s youngsters produce a successful performance in the North East.

“It’s been strange because once you’ve finished pre-season, you just want to play games. We’ve worked the lads really hard, they’re in a good place for Monday’s game and are chomping at the bit to get out there.

“We conceded just before half-time in our last game and we conceded more in the second half, but we had a lot of young players out there and that was a big plus point for us.

“All the players in the U21s are young, but some have already played games at this level and the quicker we can get the 16/17-year-olds more experience and up to speed with things, then all the better for them.

“It’s about blooding these young players and giving them their opportunity and results might suffer, but it’s secondary to giving those boys a pathway to play.

“We can’t get frustrated [at missing chances], or slash at opportunities or overthink things. We do plenty of finishing practice and we keep the players fit and strong, but ultimately the quality shines through and that’s why the top players earn the most because it’s the hardest part of the game.

Mo Faal will be looking to net his first goal of the season on Monday

“Those boys have got to get to that level, but we don’t worry about missing chances because we know we have some great players at the top end of the pitch who can score goals. They’ve been doing it all their lives but our job is to get them doing that at first-team level.

“I’m really looking forward to Sunderland. You can train, train, train all week and we’ve managed to get a lot of high-quality work into the boys, but it’s all about playing games and we all enjoy them more so we’re looking forward to having two in a week now.”

Reyes Cleary

A resilient second-half effort saw a depleted Sunderland team hold Albion’s PL2 side to a 3-3  draw at the Eppleton Colliery Football Ground on Monday night.

It was a strong first-half showing from the young Baggies, who led 3-0 at the break thanks to goals from Jamie Andrews, Reyes Cleary and Mo Faal.

Michael Spellman’s dismissal at the end of the first 45 meant Richard Beale’s men had a numerical advantage heading into the second half, but three goals in the space of six minutes took the visitors by surprise and despite the hosts receiving a second red card, they held on to earn a point.

Although it was a disappointing finish to proceedings in the North East, Albion’s youngsters dominated the first half and barring one wayward strike across goal from the Black Cats, the away side took the game to their opponents.

Rico Richards was felled in the box after just four minutes, prompting a penalty to be awarded to Beale’s men.

Captain Andrews converted and the goals didn’t stop there with Reyes Cleary racing onto a perfect Richards through ball to slot in a second, before forward Faal’s powerful effort off the post meant the Baggies led 3-0 after 20 minutes.

Spellman’s wild lunge on Zac Ashworth resulted in him receiving his marching orders moments before the interval. But despite being at a disadvantage heading in at the break, Sunderland took the game away from the Baggies during the second 45.

Max Thompson netted a brace in the space of a couple of minutes to give the home side the initiative, and a penalty three minutes later meant the scores were level again after Caden Kelly converted from the spot.

Ethan Kachosa’s dismissal for a second bookable offence gave Albion further cause to pile on the pressure and dictate the latter stages in search of a winning goal.

Two goal-bound headers from towering striker Faal were saved by keeper Jacob Carney and the shot-stopper’s fingertips denied substitute Jovan Malcolm from stealing the points in the dying embers, as the Baggies left Sunderland with just a point.

Albion: Hollingshead; Ingram, Nguepissi (Malcolm), Trialist, Ashworth; Andrews ©, Whitwell, R.Richards (Mitchell); Fellows, Faal, Cleary.

Substitutes: Hudd, Shaw, Mfuamba.