Albion Under-21s have the chance to reach the Birmingham County FA Senior Challenge Cup semi-finals should they beat Redditch United in their last-eight encounter on Monday evening (ko 7.45pm).
The young Baggies have progressed one stage further than their 2024/25 efforts in the competition, having bowed out at the hands of Racing Club Warwick in the third round last season.
But after two wins over senior opposition in this season's tournament, and a promising recent record in the league (four PL2 victories in a row), the academy hopefuls will be full of confidence going into the midweek match-up with their Southern Premier Division Central play-off chasing counterparts.
Last time out
An emphatic 7-1 victory over Bedworth United sealed the youngsters’ place in the quarter-finals, despite going behind early on.
But the academy prospects soon asserted their dominance on their senior opponents, notching through Charlie Blackshields (2), Rio Parmar, Adam Letlat, Jaiden Francis-Caesar, Ryan Colesby and Miller McDonald to seal a dominant display - complimenting their second-round penalty-shootout win over Coventry United.
Venue
The Valley Stadium, home of Redditch United, will be the host venue for Monday’s cup tie.
Last time the U21s visited the ground back in 2023, they booked their place in the semi-finals of the same competition - winning on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Pre-match thoughts
Forward Torin Ntege is no stranger to a goal against senior opposition - a prospect which could serve him and his team-mates well against the Reds on Monday.
The 19-year-old scored against Boreham Wood in the National League Cup earlier in the season, and appeared in each of the young Baggies’ matches against fifth-tier opposition during their group-stage campaign.
It’s now four goals for the attacker this term, with Torin scoring in Albion’s most-recent PL2 win against Birmingham City to help continue their spell of rampant goalscoring form.
When discussing the differences between facing senior sides and their usual academy opponents, Ntege believes “physicality” and being “sharp” in the final third will be key to competing with Redditch, and the forward has "full faith" in Albion's young pros to get the job done under the Valley Stadium lights.
He said: “It’s been a while since I’ve been on the scoresheet. I’ve been trying to help the team, which means I’m not always scoring, but it’s great to get four wins on the bounce.
“As a winger, providing goals and assists really helps the team so I was delighted to score and play with the boys again. We’ve worked hard for these wins and we’re glad they’re finally coming.
“Confidence in the camp is really high, we’re playing good football, getting clean sheets, and scoring lots of goals. I think we’re on the up and our recent performances show that.
“We’re becoming very dangerous going forwards now. We manage to keep the goals out too and I think there's a great balance in the team which has shown in the latter stages of the season - it’s the perfect time to be performing how we are as a group.
“I’m looking forward to Monday. It’s another test against a senior side and we want to do well in this competition, so we hope to play well. It’s all about winning on the night and getting through to the semi-finals.
“The National League Cup was a great challenge for us. It’s more of a physical test when playing against men and the intensity is different, but I feel we can test ourselves against teams like that.
“Monday’s another example of those tests and we’re more than ready for it. There’s less time on the ball when you play a men’s team, we need to move the ball sharper against experienced players and you need to see the picture early otherwise you’ll end up in a physical battle.
“We need to be smart and play our game to the best of our ability.
“We’re down to the last eight in the competition now and we have full faith that we can continue to progress.
"Right now, we have to take pride in where we’ve got to in the competition and take all of the confidence we’ve gained in recent weeks into Monday’s match.”
How to follow
Tickets are available for Monday night’s Birmingham County FA Senior Challenge Cup tie at the Valley.
Those hoping to secure their ticket for the game can click here. Supporters can also buy tickets on the gate at the Valley.
They are priced at £8 adults and £6 for concessions, those aged 14-17 or students (with valid ID shown) are priced at £5.
Supporters can keep up-to-date with Monday’s cup tie across the club’s social media channels, with half-time, full-time and goal updates as they go in.
The match report, reaction and match highlights will be available on the club website in the coming days.
