Albion Under-21s have a chance of making the National League Cup knockout stages in their final group stage match against Truro City on Tuesday evening (ko 7pm).
Boss Leigh Downing, who hails from Truro, and his side have made a strong case for a top two place in Group D, after gaining creditable points against the likes of Boston United and Woking.
The visitors to the Truro City Stadium will need to beat the Tinners, and hope other results go in their favour, in order to seal their progression to the last eight of the competition for the first time in their history.
National League Cup | Group D Table
| Position | Team | PL | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Truro | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 9 |
| 2 | Woking | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| 3 | Sutton United | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | Albion U21s | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | Birmingham City U21 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 5 |
| 6 | Southampton U21s | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 3 |
| 7 | Leicester City U21s | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -3 | 2 |
| 8 | Boston United | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 0 |
Last time out
It was a narrow first defeat of the competition in the young Baggies’ last outing, as they lost 3-2 to Sutton United.
Rio Parmar scored the opener, while Justin Seven-Seven notched a late consolation in South London.
Venue
The club’s academy hopefuls will travel to the Truro City Stadium in Cornwall on Tuesday evening.
Pre-match thoughts
Rio Parmar has been in rampant form for Albion U21s across the month of October - racking up a streak of efforts in the final third thanks to a positive “reset” during the previous international break.
The attacking midfielder has added five goal contributions (three goals & two assists) to his tally over the last four matches, with his impressive streak spanning the breadth of the youngsters’ three competitions.
A particular highlight, although the result was much to the contrary, was Parmar’s incredible strike against Black County rivals Wolves - where he drove inside from the left channel to unleash a sublime solo stunner past the goalkeeper.
And though the 19-year-old is enjoying his personal performances, he wants to see the team, and himself, “become more ruthless in the final third” - starting with Tuesday’s long trip to Cornwall in the National League Cup.
He said: “I think the international break came at a good time for me to reset and rethink what I could improve on across October. The main thing was to contribute more with goals and assists; I wanted to be more ruthless in the final third - it’s something I need to keep doing now.
“We noticed we were creating a lot of chances through individual bits and with our combination play. After the international break, we wanted to start putting more of the chances away, and we feel all of the attackers have been chipping in and contributing - including myself.
“The derby element made that Wolves goal much better; it was a good finish overall, but it gave it that extra edge. Getting goals against different teams is also very good for me personally to show I can go into men’s football and do the same as I am with the U21s.
“This competition suits me as a player, being more technical, so I’ve got to use my strengths and I’ve been able to get on the ball more to create chances in those games. They’re good for me and it gives me confidence to compete at that level.
“As a team, we know after assessing matches together, we all say we’re a good team between the two boxes, and we’re able to dominate games - it’s just that ruthlessness in defending and attacking those boxes. It’s that extra bit to put the game to bed, often.
"We’ve been up by goals quite often, and it’s quite a dangerous lead to have, and we start second halves quite slowly too; we’re all looking to nail that down over the next few games.
“The change in setup and formation has definitely forced us as a team to be more focused. I’ve been playing either centrally or off the left, and learning those two responsibilities has really helped me, so if I do make the step up to senior football, I’ve learned how to be out of possession.
“Against Wolves, my goal came from being nice and narrow, and tucked in as I’ve been asked to do. It also comes down to being switched on for the whole 90 minutes - that’s a big part of it.
“We’re all feeling confident about the Truro game. Our past performances in the cup have been good, and even though we lost in the last game, we deserved more from that as we competed very well.
“We’re all incredibly up for it and we think we can get a result and possibly get through. A big target of mine was to get eight goal contributions between the international break and Christmas, but I’m already on seven.
“I want to keep exceeding my targets and to become more ruthless in the final third. As a kid, I dreamed of playing for the Albion - so I want to keep performing for the 21s and, hopefully, that chance comes my way.”
How to follow
Tuesday’s National League group-stage match between the Baggies and the Tinners will be streamed live from the Truro City Stadium.
Although usually available to view on the club website, supporters wishing to watch our youngsters in action are advised to do so on the National League website here. A free NL account is required to be able to view the match, with the stream set to commence at 6.50pm.
There will be no social media updates for Tuesday’s game, owing to the senior team’s Sky Bet Championship clash with Southampton, but any Albion supporters wishing to make the trip can purchase their tickets here.
A match report and highlights will be available after the fixture.
