Baggies silenced by late fight back
ALBION drew 4-4 with Manchester City in their Barclays U18 Premier League opener on Saturday.
Ged Oldnall (pictured) fired a brace before Danny Barrow scored from a corner and Reece Hayes’ deflected shot found the net to give the Baggies a 4-1 lead going into the final 15 minutes.
But the visitors, who were down to ten men after Jack Byrne was sent off on 70 minutes, fought back to earn a point at the club’s training ground.
Lead professional development coach James Shan was disappointed with the manner in which his side lost the game – but insists the youngster have learned a valuable lesson.
“We hadn’t dominated the game going into the last 15 minutes but we were comfortable,” said Shan.
“After the sending off we became complacent.
“The momentum swung in their favour and they attacked with great intensity.
“It was gut-wrenching to concede three goals in such a short time span – especially against ten men.
“The lads have learnt a tough lesson.
“Having said all that, there were still more positives than negatives to take from the game.
“For the first 75 minutes we looked very good.”
ALBION: Palmer; Buchannon, Donnellan, JP Jones, Hallaghan; Pace; Hayes, Ward (S Nabi HT); Campbell (Wright 68), Oldnall, Barrow (Cater 75). Sub not used: Ross (gk).