Albion Under-21s will aim to continue their positive momentum in the National League Cup as they take on Boston United on Tuesday evening (ko 7pm).
Leigh Downing’s outfit achieved a memorable result in their opening Group D game, as they edged out senior side Woking on penalties.
And their next opponents, the Pilgrims, have enjoyed a mixed start to their Enterprise National League campaign, collecting seven points from six matches.
Last time out
The Baggies secured their second-ever competition win in the National League Cup last time out, after holding Woking to a goalless draw in normal time, and relying on some shootout heroics from Ben Cisse.
Venue
Jakemans Community Stadium is the destination for Albion’s academy hopefuls as they head to Lincolnshire.
The Pilgrims drew two-all with Tamworth in their most recent fifth-tier encounter, and are perched 15th in the standings.
Pre-match thoughts
For Adam Letlat, plenty has changed for him since he signed his maiden professional contract in April.
The young full-back penned pro terms back in the spring, and hasn’t looked back since, becoming a mainstay for Downing’s U21 team during the early parts of 2026/27.
Letlat has played in each of the academy side’s competitions this year, including their recent win in the National League Cup - where they overcame the odds to claim a scalp against senior side Woking.
And with another tough contest with senior opposition ahead, the 18-year-old hopes everyone can keep “pushing each other” to improve.
He said: “I feel the U21s group is very much like a family. There’s a lot we could’ve improved on over our last few PL2 matches; we’ve scored a lot of goals but also conceded a fair few too.
“We’re always pushing each other during these harder times, and once we get it right, we’ll get past it and move on to our next game.
“The improvements we’ve needed to make in recent weeks aren’t anything we can’t work towards together. We have a great team with great players, who are all very versatile, and a great bunch of lads too.
“We need to keep pushing each other throughout the whole 90 minutes, and especially towards the latter stages of games. If we keep pushing each other to do our best, then we’ll get that consistency.
“The staff have a huge trust in us, and we have the trust in them equally to help us improve this. We always want to push our standards, and give one hundred per cent until the latter stages of every game.
“It’s been great since I’ve signed my professional deal in the summer, you’re held to a really high standard around the place. You train with the first team, and it helps you mould into a professional. It’s been a great experience so far.
“We got off to a great start in the National League Cup against Woking, they’re a physical side, but we had to rise up to the challenge. They had some fans there, they had a great atmosphere there on the night and it was a good experience.
“We did everything right, if we worry about ourselves and do everything we can, the outcome will take care of itself. Playing against senior teams, at face value, can seem quite daunting, but it’s an opportunity to show yourself.
“We all need to rise to the occasion in this competition, and we’ve proved to ourselves we can do it, and that’s given us the confidence to go again and try to win in this group stage.
“Especially for me recently coming into the squad, we lean on the older players in this group. They’re helping us overcome the physical side of the game and pushing us on in the games, so to have that experience to help us is really important.
“We’ll go into the next game with a bit of confidence about us, and we can’t wait for the challenge on Tuesday.”
How to follow
Tuesday’s National League Cup group match between the Baggies and the Pilgrims will be streamed live from the Jakemans Community Stadium.
Supporters with a My Albion account can watch along, with the feed available from 15 minutes before kick-off (6.45pm) here.
Updates will be provided across the Albion social media channels too.
