Ruth: I couldn't have asked more of team despite defeat

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The result leaves Albion 17th in Premier League 2.

2026-02-02T12:30+00:00

Shannon Ruth's team take on Sunderland this Friday in Premier League 2. 📸 by James Boardman.

Shannon Ruth said he couldn’t have asked for much more from his team in their 1-0 defeat to Liverpool on Friday.

The under-21s conceded from the penalty spot after six minutes before Yussif Owusu was shown a straight red card for catching Keyrol Figueroa with his elbow after 26 minutes.

Despite being down to ten men Albion looked the more likely to score, hitting the woodwork twice through Nehemiah Oriola and Sean Keogh while the former had a terrific bicycle-kick ruled out for offside.

“We're extremely disappointed that we didn't get anything from the game,” Ruth reflected. “I felt the performance that the boys put in for over 60 minutes – down to ten men against a very good Liverpool side – was really good. I'm proud of the players' input.

Nehemiah Oriola found the back of the net with a terrific bicycle-kick, but the strike was ruled out for offside. 📸 by James Boardman.

“It obviously wasn’t the greatest of starts for us giving a penalty away within six minutes and going 1-0 down. Allowing them an early lead was something that we had specifically said we wanted to avoid and it gave us a bit of an uphill battle.

“The sending off made the evening's task even harder, but I thought the players reacted so well to going down to ten men. They were able to get to half-time without conceding and then we regrouped for the second half.

“I am super pleased with the players’ endeavour and work rate. We created chances and in the last 15 minutes, we had over 60% of the ball. We scored a goal, but obviously it's offside. We hit the bar twice, so we had chances.

“We got to minute 60 and then we get to minute 75 and at each checkpoint we changed shape. The players adapted so well and were really committed and collective in their work.

Shane Nti looks to get Albion moving forward. 📸 by James Boardman.

“The overriding feeling is that we're disappointed that we didn't get anything because of what we put in and how we dealt with the challenge. It was really positive and that makes it a tough result to swallow.

“But I think the performance puts us in good stead if we go down to ten men again. That's a really good piece of development for us.

“There are parts of the performance that will serve us really well moving forward into the second part of the season. It’s so disappointing to lose but I couldn't ask much more from the players. They gave everything.”