Albion Under-21s were beaten by Bromley in their Premier League Cup opener on Wednesday evening.
The young Baggies struggled to make their mark on proceedings at The CopperJax Community Stadium, and conceded three goals without reply to begin the group stage.
It’s a quick turnaround for Leigh Downing’s hopefuls, who return to PL2 action next Monday against Derby County.
Despite the scoreline, Albion made a strong start to the match. Jack Bray had the first chance of the game within the first few minutes, followed by Ryan Colesby and Harry French in the early stages - but nobody could get past Ravens' Rex Porter to give the visitors a lead.
The Baggies were made to pay for not converting one of those opportunities, as Nathan Paul-Lavaly cut inside to beat Joe Wallis for the opener.
And the hosts doubled their advantage immediately as the second half began; George Evans found room inside the visitors’ penalty area to slot home a second.
Downing’s side struggled to wrestle back a foothold in the game and went three goals behind with 20 minutes left to play. Wallis couldn’t get to a cross, which fell kindly at the feet of Jonathan Haftom to bend a curling strike into the net.
All in all, it was a tough evening for Albion’s academy hopefuls, who still have five PL Cup group matches remaining to vie for a place in the knockouts.
Albion: Wallis; Maughan. Mohammed, Pinnington, Letlat; McNeil, Deeming (Lucas 69’), Blackshields (Iddrisa 69’), Colesby (Parmar 50’); French (Francis-Caesar 50’), Bray.
Substitutes: Brady.
All images courtesy of Ben Shepherd
