Jun’ai Byfield’s first goal at Under-21 level gave us a slender but well-deserved home win over West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League 2 on Friday night.
The young defender swept home after Dane Scarlett nodded Luca Williams-Barnett’s corner back across goal with 20 minutes gone – and that’s how it stayed as we ground out a hard-fought three points at Stevenage’s Lamex Stadium.
Indeed, we had to be adept at both sides of the game, attacking freely for much of the first half before staying strong to keep the Baggies at bay in a physically-challenging second period, including 10 minutes of added time. It was an encouraging performance from our young side and the ideal response after Tuesday’s heavy defeat to Plymouth Argyle’s senior team in the Vertu Trophy.
Yusuf Akhamrich, one of the bright spots in midweek, was again a lively influence down the right while striker Scarlett brought some experience at centre-forward in his first match minutes of the season. Young defender Elijah Upson also enjoyed a solid outing on his Under-21s debut, making some important contributions to our clean sheet.
More to follow...