Albion Under-21s will look to bounce back from last week’s 5-1 defeat to Brentford when they travel to Exeter City in the Premier League Cup on Tuesday evening.
The Baggies were well-beaten at Wheatsheaf Park, in a performance that will surely probe a reaction as they make the long trip down to St James’ Park.
Leigh Downing’s youngsters come into the fixture in second place following last Wednesday’s result, and safe in the knowledge that their fate for the remainder of the competition is in their own hands.
Here’s how Group E looks ahead of the penultimate round of group matches:
| Position | Team | Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goal difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brentford | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 9 |
| 2 | Albion | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| 3 | Exeter | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 7 |
| 4 | Luton Town | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -9 | 3 |
Last time out
Albion were handed a heavy defeat in the competition last time out. Noah DuPont opened the scoring in West London, but Brentford scored five without further reply to secure a 5-1 win.
Venue
Downing’s young charges make the 300-mile round trip to St James’ Park in Exeter for Tuesday night’s encounter.
By the time kick-off comes around, the 8,000-capacity stadium will have hosted all three of the Grecians’ Premier League Cup matches.
Pre-match thoughts
Boss Downing has challenged his team to rally together after Monday night’s defeat to Brentford.
The Baggies have seen similar positive reactions to heavy losses earlier in the campaign, and this Tuesday’s encounter with the Grecians should be no different, according to the 21s boss.
Albion can increase their hold on a top two spot in Group E with a win, and that’s the only thing on Downing’s mind as they head to Devon.
He said: “The result in the end was the right one on Monday. We played well for the first 20 minutes and I was thinking it could well be a different game from the one that it finished.
“Once they went a couple of goals up, their quality, their energy, they had more on the night than us. We can’t afford to dwell on it because we’ve got another huge game against Exeter City coming up where we’ll need to improve.
“I thought some of our younger lads stood up to the test well on the night. Ryan Colesby had some good moments in the game, Adam Okorodudu made his first start for the U21s, and Antonio [Perkins], Jojo [Shane Gompe] and Remar [McNeil] all featured – they’ll see that level now.
“Exeter will be a similar game to Brentford, they run their B team in the same way and there’ll be a mix of first-team players and U18 ones too. It’ll be another good test, we’ll need to be better to try and keep our fate in our own hands.
“The players have had the objective [to progress to the knockout round] right from the start of the Premier League Cup. We’ve done well in previous years, so I want them to get through the groups and it gives us an important game to look forward to after Christmas.
“It’s good to have it in our own hands, because like you said, it’s on us to keep working hard. They’ve come back from performances like this before and they’ve come out fighting and stronger.”
How to follow
Tickets are available to purchase on the day from the gate 7 turnstiles at St James' Park, with only the Nevada Construction Main Stand open for this fixture. Tickets are priced at £6 for adults, £4 for seniors and £2 for under-18s.
There will be live updates, as always, across our social media channels for the tie with Exeter City.
The full report, reaction and highlights from the match will be available on the website.
