Albion won the Under-17s Premier League Cup with a comfortable 2-0 win against Middlesbrough this afternoon.
Taking place at Boro’s Riverside Stadium, Andrew Moran gave the Seagulls the lead with a superb strike early on, while Marcus Ifill secured the win with a well taken finish ten minutes from time.
Having won all three of their group stage matches, Albion defeated Southampton in the quarter-finals of the competition, before seeing off Leicester City 1-0 at the Amex at the semi-final stage.
Any cup final nerves were put to bed after 13 minutes when Moran brilliantly swivelling just inside the Boro half before charging at the hosts’ backline. The home defenders kept backing off and the Irishman took full advantage, curling an effort into the bottom right-hand corner from the edge of the box.
Zak Emmerson's drive just before the half-hour mark was a straightforward one for Boro keeper Max Metcalfe to deal with before Toby Bull had to be alert to a dangerous ball into the box.
Albion should have doubled their advantage when Emmerson had an effort blocked from an Ifill cross, with Moran’s follow-up also cleared off the line with some last-ditch, brilliant defending.
Boro chanced their arm with a few efforts from distance, but they struggled to penetrate a well-drilled Albion back four.
The hosts weren’t going down without a fight though and five minutes after the restart, Bull pulled off an unbelievable save to deny Callum Kavanagh, the goalkeeper instinctively diving to his right to keep to out the powerful effort from ten yards.
Moran then went in search of a second for Albion with a lifted curling effort from 25-yards, but it was marginally wide of the Boro goal.
Samy Chouchane’s endeavours down the left were very nearly rewarded as he carried the ball into the Boro box before getting a shot away from a tight angle, but Metcalfe palmed away the danger.
The game was settled when Ifill burst into the box and, in particularly calm fashion, rolled the ball across goal and into the bottom-right corner.
Albion’s win was richly deserved as they become the first team to have their name inscribed on the trophy, with this the competition's inaugural season.
Albion: Bull, Nilsson, Jackson, Offiah, Sturge, Qureshi (Peupion 70), Chouchane, Collyer, Moran, Ifill, Emmerson (Everitt 70).
Subs: Reid, Jenks.