Worcester City 1 Albion XI 0

A YOUNG Albion XI suffered a 1-0 defeat at Blue Square Bet North outfit Worcester City in their pre-season opener.

Mike Symmons' solitary 36th-minute strike proved enough to seal victory for the hosts at St George's Lane in front of a crowd of 1,017.

Baggies reserve/development coach David Oldfield said: "Our performance in the first half was pretty average but we improved in the second half.

"We showed more willingness to get on the ball and push them - but Worcester are a good side and had the experience that our boys lacked.

"Overall it was a good learning curve this early on in pre-season."

Oldfield made changes between the 55th and 75th minutes with Isaiah Brown coming on for Alex Jones, Ambalu for James Bantom and Callum Jones for Jordan Francis.