Three young Baggies earned valuable senior minutes away from The Hawthorns over the weekend.
Two of the club’s academy graduate goalkeepers completed full matches – Josh Griffiths for Bristol Rovers and Ronnie Hollingshead for Alvechurch FC.
Josh’s Rovers suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat away at Barnsley in Sky Bet League One. Davis Keillor-Dunn put the hosts ahead but the Gas equalised before the break courtesy of Ruel Sotiriou.
However Griffiths’ team couldn’t hold on and conceded in the middle of the second period, with Adam Phillips notching Barnsley’s winner.
The defeat leaves Rovers ninth in the third tier having collected seven points from their first five fixtures.
Meanwhile, Hollingshead made his second debut for Alvechurch after spending time with the Southern League Premier Central side during the 2023/24 campaign.
The stopper kept a clean sheet as The Church claimed a 1-0 triumph at Hitchin Town thanks to Dan Sweeney’s second-half goal.
The victory pushed Hollingshead’s outfit up to seventh in the standings after six games.
13th January 2024: Debut 1-0 W vs. AFC Sudbury. ✅
7th September 2024: Debut 1-0 W vs. Hitchin Town. ✅
Ronnie Hollingshead. 👏 #UpTheChurch pic.twitter.com/OyKRY1A6Gs— Alvechurch FC (@Alvechurch1st) September 8, 2024
Finally, striker Reyes Cleary came on at half-time for Sky Bet League Two side Walsall who lost 1-0 at MK Dons.
The frontman replaced George Hall at the break with the Saddlers already trailing to Callum Hendry’s 18th minute effort.
Despite Saturday’s setback, Walsall remain inside the top six of the division.
💪 Keep battling Saddlers!
⚪️⚪️ 1-0 🔴⚫️ #Saddlers pic.twitter.com/9anGAFYjSt— Walsall FC Official (@WFCOfficial) September 7, 2024
