Stoke U18 0 Albion U18 1

Wedderburn's goal enough to complete double over Potters

REES Wedderburn’s strike secured Albion's first FA Premier Academy League victory in five games as they beat Stoke 1-0 on Saturday.

The Baggies forward scored the only goal of the Group One clash in the 31st minute when his free-kick just evaded Tevhon Campbell and crept in at the far post.

It could have been a more comfortable afternoon for the visitors had they put away a host of chances early in the second half.

But they kept out the Potters for the second time this term to complete the double over them.

Albion lead development coach James Shan said: “We had a young side out and it was a very, very good performance and well-deserved win.

“We kept the ball well and created numerous chances.

“Stoke sat off us quite a lot, which meant our back players had time and space to move the ball and be patient.

“When we did that and got good movement ahead of the ball in the second half we could have been 3-0 or 4-0 up.

“Jordan Francis missed a one-on-one, George Cater also did and Kyle Howkins had a header at the back post he should have scored with.

“If we’d have won 3-0 or 4-0 I think it would have been deserved.

“They had a late rally but we defended really well and Jack Rose made a good save from a 25-yard strike.

“All I can ask is for the players to be more clinical.

“If we’d converted our early chances in the second half the game would have had a different take.

“But overall we’ve shown some good signs of improvement.”

Shan also reserved praise for Under-15 Brad Sweeney and Under-16 George Cater on their Under-18s debuts.

“We had a number of Under-16s starting and on the bench," he added.

“Brad did really well, he played as a holding midfield player and never gave the ball away, he really understood his job, was tactically aware and technically just kept things simple.

"George came on for 25 minutes and he linked up well with the other Under-16s players."

ALBION: Rose; Buchannon, Howkins, Greenidge, Francis (Donnellan 71); S Nabi (Sweeney 60), Hayes, Barrow; Wedderburn (Cater 65), Campbell, Hallaghan. Subs not used: Palmer (gk), Ezewelle.