Under-21 head coach Shannon Ruth was delighted with the way his players kept going in difficult conditions to stay alive in the Premier League Cup.
Mark O’Mahony’s header in the 95th minute of a match played in a gale gave Albion a 1-0 win over Swansea City on Tuesday and kept them in with a chance of overhauling the Welsh club in Group A. Anything but a victory would have eliminated Albion and seen the Swans through to the knockout stage of the competition.
Now Albion must beat bottom-of-the-table Hull City in our final group game and hope that Swansea lose to top-of-the-table Aston Villa in theirs. But after watching his players battle through against the storm-force winds in the second half as well as a determined Swansea side, Ruth is confident that they can fulfil their part of the task.
“I was really pleased with the players’ character,” he said. “I have said before that the group never knows when they are beaten. They are resilient and I felt overall that we deserved it. We were better in every metric, although we expected that playing against the wind in the second half would leave us open to a counter-attack. The weather affected the second half more than the first half.”
The goal followed a classic piece of wing play from substitute Bailey Smith, who charged down the right, made himself an extra yard of space with a clever feint, and then delivered a perfect cross onto the head of fellow substitute O’Mahony.
“Bailey spent the first part of the season loan at Worthing under [manager] Adam Hinshelwood,” Ruth said. “It did him the world of good in terms of his confidence and getting him the minutes he needed at that point. I think he has come on in every game since he has been back. I was pleased for him to have a part in us getting the win.”
The goal would have been nothing more than a consolation but for a brave rearguard action in the second half to keep the game goalless in the teeth of the gale. Goalkeeper Hugo Fisher pulled off a series of saves and left wing-back Imari Samuels made a crucial block late on from Swansea substitute Liam Smith’s close-range header.
Samuels, 20, who joined the club from Reading in 2022, came off the bench in all three of the club’s US Summer Series matches in the United States, although he has yet to make his Premier League debut. He was a key attacker as Albion dominated the first half against Swansea and just as important a defender in the second. While Jacob Slater has been impressing in recent games, Samuels’ performance was a reminder that the club has impressive depth on the left.
“We are really lucky to have both Jacob and Imari in that position,” Ruth said. “Both have had significant minutes. Imari often finds himself supporting the first team as well as training and playing with us, so his schedule is free-flowing and he deals with that very well.
“He brings great energy to the team and is a wonderful personality. He is a leader in the group and helps a lot of the younger players who come up, so for him to get such positive performance under his belt is very pleasing.”