The mighty Atom - hoping to fire Albion to a cup double this week

Our under-21s face Three Bridges tonight in the final of the Sussex Senior Cup and Manchester United in the PL2 play-off final.

Luke Nicoli

2026-05-13T06:00+01:00

Noel Atom and the under-21s are targeting two cup victories this week. 📸 by James Boardman.

Defender Noel Atom believes success in the week’s two cup finals for the men’s U21s will be the reward for all the hard work the squad has put in this season.

In an Amex double header, Albion take on Three Bridges on Wednesday (7.30pm) before playing Manchester United in the PL2 play-off final on Saturday.

Shannon Ruth’s side booked their place in the final following a hugely impressive 3-1 semi-final win at Tottenham Hotspur on Friday. Atom scored the opening goal on the night and made an assist for the all-important third – and his sights are now firmly set on beating United to lift the trophy.

“We’re delighted to get to the final but now we want to go on and win it,” says the former RB Leipzig youngster. “Before the season started this was our goal, to lift some silverware, and we’ve worked so hard to put ourselves in this position. We’ve had some phases in the season where it’s been difficult, where we’ve had a few players injured and we’ve had to bring in some of the younger lads, but we’ve all stuck together, kept working hard, and we’re seeing the results of that now. It’s unbelievable how we’ve ended the season.”

Albion are on a seven-game unbeaten run, which has yielded six victories.

Noel Atom leads the celebrations after scoring against Tottenham on Friday. 📷Simon Roe.

The centre-half was one of the standout performers against Spurs, reacting first in the box to score Albion’s first goal from a quickly taken corner. His assist for the third came when he headed a corner back into the danger zone which was nodded over the line by sub Kofi Shaw.

“My biggest strength, where I can make an impression on the goal, is from corners, so I like being in the box,” he smiled. “For my goal, the ball fell to my feet and I reacted well to put it in the net. Then with the assist, I had Ben Barclay telling me to go to the back post and that’s what I did. I was happy that it ended well – it was an important goal that gave us some breathing space.”

First up is tonight’s game against a Bridges side who were recently promoted to step 3 in the non-league pyramid as Isthmian League South East Division champions.

“We can’t wait to play at the Amex in front of our own supporters this time,” he said. “Three Bridges are a team we don’t know as much about, but we will treat them with real respect as they have made the final. What we do know is that both games will be tough but we are so determined to finish the job off now. We want to be lifting those trophies as a reward for everyone’s hard work.”