Albion were beaten 2-1 by Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup First Round on Tuesday evening.
The home team came from behind to secure the win against a young Baggies outfit at Highbury Stadium - with Ryan Graydon and Ronan Coughlan efforts overturning Mo Faal’s early strike.
Carlos Corberán’s side return to Sky Bet Championship action this Saturday, when they host Leeds United (ko 12.30pm).
![An image of the sun setting on Fleetwood's Highbury Stadium](https://cdn.wba.co.uk/sites/default/files/2024-08/fleetwood_evening_pic.jpg)
The boss made 11 changes as a mixture of summer signings and Academy products took to the pitch in Lancashire, including a debut for Reece Hall alongside senior players Joe Wildsmith and Paddy McNair.
Albion went ahead inside eight minutes via Mo Faal’s first senior goal for the club, the striker latching onto Devante Cole’s through ball and finishing past Jay Lynch.
![An image of Mo Faal celebrating his goal against Fleetwood](https://cdn.wba.co.uk/sites/default/files/2024-08/faal_goal_fleetwood.jpg)
However, Fleetwood soon hit back, Graydon racing in and quickly grabbing a leveller during an action-packed opening.
And a clinical counter-attack then saw the Fisherman net their second just after the half-hour mark - Coughlan poking past Joe Wildsmith to give them the advantage.
The Baggies did try and equalise before the break, yet Gianluca Frabotta curled his free-kick over and Faal side-footed narrowly wide.
![An image of Ousmane Diakite on the ball against Fleetwood](https://cdn.wba.co.uk/sites/default/files/2024-08/diakite_fleetwood.jpg)
Corberán’s men continued to push after half-time but Ousmane Diakite’s volley was skewed off-target and Cole’s low shot easily gathered by Jay Lynch.
There were positives in the form of further debuts off the bench - Academy graduates Deago Nelson, Cole Deeming, Eseosa Sule and Iddrisa Dauda all featuring throughout the second period.
They did threaten Fleetwood a few times, notably Deeming hitting a free-kick into the wall, and Harry Whitwell and Faal having attempts blocked.
In the end, though, Albion came up short on the night, bringing an end to their 2024/25 Carabao Cup involvement.
Albion: Wildsmith, Hall, Taylor, McNair (Nelson 61), Frabotta (Deeming 61), Whitwell (Iddrisa 77), Diakite, Dobbin (Sule 73), Heard, Cole (Cleary 73), Faal.
Substitutes: Cann, Diomande, Richards, Mfuamba.