Ruth: We want to show we’ve learned our lesson in EFL Trophy

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Albion head to Wycombe on Tuesday night for second group stage match.

Charlie Hanson

2024-09-17T06:00+01:00

Albion were beaten 4-1 at Wycombe in the quarter-finals of the competition last season. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

Shannon Ruth wants his team to show that they’ve learned from their defeat to Wycombe in the EFL Trophy last season, when they face the Chairboys in the same competition on Tuesday night.

Albion were knocked out at the quarter-final stage at Adams Park, with Wycombe going onto reach the final where they were beaten by Peterborough United.

Matt Bloomfield’s team won 4-1, an experience Ruth believes his team can use to build on.

“They were certainly the toughest opposition that we faced last year in this competition, and you can see why they made it all the way to the final," he said.

“We started the game well. We had some good chances and didn't take them. There was a 15-20-minute period where the game got away from us, so we're hoping to learn the lessons of that. But we know it's going to be an extremely tough game.

Josh Duffus scored in our opening EFL Trophy game of the season against Crawley. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

“We also know through our efforts at Crawley in the opening game and how we how we applied ourselves last season that if we can learn the lessons and bring a really positive version of us then there's a chance for us to get something from the game.

“We're going into the game with confidence. We embrace the challenge and are looking to get something positive from it."

A victory would put Albion on four points, putting them in a strong position to qualify for the knockout stages.

“We're pleased with the point we got at Crawley and we know that a win against Wycombe will put us in a really positive place to try and get out of the group. The experiences that this competition gave our young players last year is something that we want to recreate.

Shannon Ruth alongside Gary Dicker. 📷 by James Boardman.

“We're fully aware of the benefits of this competition for our young players, both from a games programme perspective, but also from a career perspective, a loan opportunity perspective.

“It gives the players a really good platform to build on to try and get a loan, but also it's some of our players’ first taste of senior football and that's invaluable.

“The more games we can get in this competition the more success we can have and that only means more opportunities for our young players.

“It's a competition that we value very highly. We know the benefits of going far in this competition and we'll be hoping to do the same this season.”