Albion made a winning return to action in the U18 Premier League thanks to a dominant win over Leicester City on Saturday afternoon.
First-half efforts from Josh Shaw and Jamie Andrews gave the young Baggies a 2-0 lead at the interval.
And although Ethan Fitzhugh threatened to dent Albion’s momentum, substitute Reyes Clearly netted a quick-fire double to emphatically seal three points for Peter Gilbert’s side.
The 18s headed into Saturday’s clash in good spirits following their progression to the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup last time out.
Goals from Tim Iroegbunam and Mo Faal were enough to see off Cardiff City 2-1 at The Hawthorns and set up a tie with Tottenham Hotspur.
Like in the Baggies’ tie with the Bluebirds, Tom Fellows started the game brightly troubling the Foxes’ defence and it was he who was instrumental in breaking the deadlock - assisting Shaw to net the first of the contest.
The Baggies didn’t waste any time building on their lead as midfielder Andrews converted two minutes later to put the hosts in a strong position at the break.
But Leicester began the second 45 well going forward and got their reward 11 minutes in when attacker Fitzhugh converted to put pressure on Albion’s resolve.
Despite waiting 23 minutes before the next goal of the game, the introduction of Reyes Cleary off the bench proved to be vital as he netted two goals in the space of three minutes in the closing stages to wrap up an important three points for Gilbert’s men.
They face Tottenham next on March 13, as they look to progress to the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup.
