West Bromwich Albion's youngsters sealed their place in the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup thanks to a thrilling 4-3 win over AFC Bournemouth.
Ryan Colesby, Adam Okorodudu, Harry French and Adam Letlat were all on target for Chay Thompson's side on a wet and windy Wednesday night at The Hawthorns.
The Cherries fought back from 4-0 down in the second period and scored three times to set up a very nervy finish, but the club's scholars managed to hang on and book a trip to Sunderland in the early part of 2026.
The Baggies made a really bright start and found themselves 2-0 up inside 20 minutes. The first arrived eight minutes into the encounter when Colesby dispossessed a Bournemouth midfielder high up the pitch and proceeded to fire a strike beyond Zach Melin, despite the stopper getting a touch on the ball.
Okorodudu then doubled the lead 12 minutes later. Skipper Alfie Maughan received possession out wide on the right and delivered a perfect cross into the path of the forward, who was able to convert at the first time of asking from around eight yards.
The visitors had chances to pull one back before the break, with defender Alfie Merritt and winger Kobaro Akaunu failing to hit the target.
And those misses proved costly. On the stroke of half time, French raced through on goal and confidently powered a strike from the edge of the box into the bottom corner to make it 3-0.
The home team picked up from where they left off at the start of the second period. Letlat advanced into an unmarked position on the left side of the box, waited for a pass and drilled a stunning strike in off the far post from an acute angle to increase the lead.
Instead of letting their heads drop, the side from the south coast rallied and fought their way back into the contest.
A brilliant long-range attempt from Joe Spence found the top corner just before the hour mark. Substitute Eugene Nyarko then nodded home at the back post having met a right-wing corner to reduce Albion's advantage to two.
And when fellow second-half sub Leyland Waite side-footed into the middle of the net after a left-wing cutback to make it 4-3, it looked like Bournemouth might just go on to complete a remarkable recovery.
Thankfully though, the Baggies hung on and produced some resolute defending to deny their opponents a leveller and progress to the next stage of the prestigious youth tournament. Cherries number 14 Jalil Conteh was also dismissed after the final whistle.
ALBION: Moses, Iddrisa, Perkins, Abudu, Maughan (Round 71), Blackshields, Colesby, Letlat, French (McNeil 78), Parmar (Francis-Caesar 78), Okorodudu (Dexter 90+').
Subs: Lines (GK), Iqbal, Billings.
