Albion Under-21s will be fighting to claim their first win in the Premier League Cup when they visit Fleetwood Town on Sunday afternoon (ko 1pm).
Richard Beale’s young Baggies currently sit third in Group C with one point, below second-placed Southampton with four and table-toppers Swansea, who are on six.
Like Albion, the Cod Army are also yet to win a match in this competition - with the challenge of securing a first triumph against their visitors from the Black Country a big motivator this weekend.
Last time out
Late drama saw the club’s youngsters leave their last cup clash empty-handed despite a dominant display against Swansea City.
Ollie Bostock had levelled matters in the game as the academy hopefuls pushed for a winner at The Hawthorns, but their South Wales counterparts pounced on indecision at the back to claim a 2-1 victory on the night.
Finding the bottom corner. 🎯
A fine finish from Ollie Bostock at the Shrine last night. 👏 pic.twitter.com/a2BsGpUnpg— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) October 18, 2024
Venue
The Under-21s will take on Town at EcoGiants Stadium this Sunday.
It is the home ground of Northern Premier League outfit Clitheroe. However, this weekend, it will be the venue for PL Cup action between Fleetwood and Albion.
Pre-match thoughts
Professional Development Phase boss Beale took the opportunity to praise the application of the club’s scholars heading into Sunday’s PL Cup match.
Seven of the U18s group featured in the Baggies’ last match - a 2-1 National League Cup defeat to fifth-tier outfit Dagenham & Redbridge.
One of them, Dan Chimeziri, notched his second consecutive goal in the 21s side against the Daggers, and his honest, hard-working approach hasn’t gone unnoticed by Beale.
The level of competitiveness shown by the forward, and by the young Baggies in response to their last PL2 defeat to Derby was praised by the 21s boss ahead of the game, who hopes these “rich experiences” can help them produce a winning display against Fleetwood.
He said: “We’re blooding a lot of young players, which is fantastic.
“The last competition we played in, the National League Cup, we were up against seasoned professionals and during the week, we had five 16-year-olds on the pitch against them, and you can’t get that exposure anywhere else.
“There were some really good performances, the lads put a great shift in - which is a basic requirement - but they stood up for themselves, competed, ran good distances with good intensities, while playing some nice stuff too.
“We just need to make that a consistent level of application and it can’t waver.
“We want the boys to win every game, but we aren’t going to - especially with the young squad we have this year - combined with a raft of injuries at the moment - but it’s giving lots of boys opportunities and two or three on Tuesday really took theirs.
“He’s got two goals in two games and he’s really honest, Dan, and he runs, and runs, and runs.
“On Tuesday he was barging into big centre-backs, who had 500 appearances under their belt, stood up for himself and that’s a big part of the game.
“That bodes well for him and we’re trying to fine tune certain areas of his game, but it’s fantastic working with someone like Dan who’s so honest, hard-working, and he’s only going to get better and better.
“Matt Crowther drove us on in midfield too and for a first-year scholar who’s only just come in, it’s fantastic to see. Not only did he have drive, his passing was excellent, Alfie Maughan showed good quality, Noah Dupont was thrown in last-minute and gave a really good account of himself.
“It’s early in their careers but what I like is their application, energy, attitude and hunger. If you’ve got those attributes, you’re technical and tactical bits can be added on to it. So, I’m pleased for those boys and all of them showed they want to get there and it gives us hope for the future.
“If the boys are at it and give everything they’ve got, then we can’t ask for anymore than that this weekend.
“We’ve got a very transient group, so we don’t get a lot of time with them on the training pitch because they’re often in and out of first-team sessions, or we’re using 18s players.
“So it’s been difficult to get a set rhythm going for us this season, but they’re getting rich experiences of learning and as long as they are competing - because not all young players understand how to do that - then they’ll be the ones who go on.”
How to follow
Owing to a first-team fixture being played on the same day, we will be unable to provide live coverage of Sunday's PL Cup match between the U21s and Fleetwood.
The full report and reaction to the game will be available on the club website over the weekend.
