[OldburyWBA]

Hereford United v West Bromwich Albion XI

Saturday 20th July 2013 13.00pm

Please use this topic for all discussion on this game. Ticket details etc will be announced in the thread as soon as they become available

THIS FIXTURE IS AN ALBION XI SO EXPECT ACADEMY PLAYERS

[Frankowba11]

So who is going Hereford On Saturday??

[Mat15(MH)]

Off to this today, looking forward to seeing who the next promising youngster to get poached by a bigger club is going to be!

[koren]

HT. Hereford United 1 Albion XI 1

[koren]

FT. Hereford 1 Albion XI 2

[koren]

http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/hereford-1-albion-xi-2-932429.aspx

Development squad victorious in pre-season opener

A YOUNG Albion XI recorded a 2-1 victory over Football Conference Premier Division outfit Hereford United this afternoon.

Alex Jones (pictured) and Wes Atkinson netted for the Baggies after The Bulls took a first-half lead at Edgar Street.

Development coach David Oldfield was pleased with his side’s display in their first pre-season fixture.

“It’s nice to win but what the boys learnt from the game is much more important.

“There was an opportunity for some players, who have not faced opposition of Hereford’s quality before, to do so.

“It was a good test for the boys to play against a team of men.

“It was a valuable workout and the boys grew into the game.

“We played some good football and passed the ball nicely.”

ALBION: Rose; Francis, Atkinson, C Jones, Garmston; Birch, Ward (Pace 86), Hayes (Leko 70); Mendy (Oldnall 75), Wedderburn (Maduako HT); A Jones (Howkins 85). Subs not used: Palmer (gk).

GOALS: HEREFORD – O’Keefe (28) ALBION – A Jones (38), Atkinson (65).

[WBASPE77]

Thanks for the link, pleased to see that we had won the game also it must be a really good experience for the team to player against older players. Also pleasing to see that we had come from a goal down to win the game too.

[Mat15(MH)]

Callam Jones was absolutely outstanding at Centre Back, head and shoulders above anyone else on the pitch from either side. Atkinson, Alex Jones and Garmston also played well.

The one to watch though from that display was Leko who came on with about 20 minutes left. Don't know how old he is, to me he didn't look much older than 15 but the lad didn't half have some technical ability, dribbling and speed. Not sure whether that was a one off performance or if that is what he does on a consistent basis, if anyone watches the academy regularly perhaps they could let us know.

If he does that all the time, he'll be poached soon enough as well.

Edit: Looked up that Leko lad on the web. Same age group as the lad Dhanda who went to Liverpool, so is only 14.

[rajesh-wba]

Is this him pictured here Mat?

http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/under-15s-runners-up-in-international-cup-418799.aspx

[Mat15(MH)]

Is this him pictured here Mat?

http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/under-15s-runners-up-in-international-cup-418799.aspx

Yeah that's him. Was tiny compared to some "bigger" non-league players, but they couldn't get near him.