A spirited second half performance from Albion under-18s wasn’t enough to stop them falling to a 3-2 defeat to Southampton on Saturday.
Saints raced into a 3-0 lead with Luke Pearce netting a first half brace, leaving Albion with a lot of work to do in the second 45.
Zak Emmerson nodded in to give Albion hope with 25 minutes to play, before Samy Chouchane converted from the penalty to spot to put pressure on the hosts.
Southampton’s Cameron Bragg was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence in the 85th minute, but Albion were unable to make their man advantage pay in the dying stages.
Professional development phase coach James Baxter said, “It was a game of two halves. There’s been a couple of games this season where we’ve started slowly and been punished and it’s a real learning curve for the boys that the five or ten minutes after you concede are really important.
“We had a good chat at half-time and credit to the boys, they regrouped in the second half and put in a good performance.
“The result is disappointing, but the players understand that regardless of how well they might play after having a poor spell, you can’t always get something from the game.”