A mix of our men’s under-21s and under-18s played two friendlies against Nice and Monaco on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Having come from 2-0 down to draw 3-3 with Nice, Albion looked as if they had done the same against Monaco, only to concede a late winner.
Victor Orakpo put Nice in front after 22 minutes, before netting a second shortly after the restart.
Albion responded well though, and striker Louis Flower pulled one back from Caylan Vickers’s pass, before firing in from the penalty spot.
The striker then completed his hat-trick as he finished well when one-on-one with the keeper.
Orakpo would also grab a treble to make it 3-3 with 15 minutes to play.
Against Monaco, Albion found themselves 2-1 down at half-time, with Josh Duffus grabbing the goal for Albion when he tapped in from Kamari Doyle’s cross after good wing play from Luca Barrington.
Monaco restored their two-goal lead after the break, but Albion dragged themselves back into the encounter. Remiero Moulton forced the Monaco keeper into giving the ball to Barrington, who returned it to Moulton to fire in, before Ruairi McConville nodded in from Doyle’s free-kick.
Shannon Ruth’s team missed a couple of gilt-edged opportunities and were punished when Monaco countered and scored with virtually the last kick of the game.
Overall it’s been a really good trip,” Ruth said. “We managed to get everyone a large chunk of game time in two high level games, both Nice and Monaco were top opponents. Technically, tactically and physically they really tested us – in both games we were competitive and had really good moments.
“We were unlucky to lose to Monaco due to a last minute goal. From the 55th minute to the 90th we were excellent and probably deserved to win the game in that moment.
"Unfortunately We ended up losing, so it was a good piece of education for the players who went from being 2-1 down at half-time to 3-3, but they need to learn a really important lesson that they then can’t lose the game trying to win it.
“We had a lot of young players on the pitch and split the teams evenly across the games and we’re pleased with a lot of the performances.”
Albion v Nice: Reid, Nilsson, Kavanagh, Penman, Mills, Bashir, Knight, Albarus, Ifill, Vickers, Flower.
Substitutes: Cahill, Gulzar, Belmont, Moulton, Tasker.
Albion v Monaco: Fisher, Tasker, McConville, Jackson, Peart, Owusu, Mullins, Slater, Doyle, Barrington, Duffus.
Substitutes: Cahill, Gulzar, Belmont, Moulton, Penman