Express & Star

Pre-season: Swindon 1 West Brom 3 - Report

Pre-season is always a good opportunity to get noticed, but with so much uncertainty clouding the senior players, Albion's youngsters have an even better chance this summer.

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Kyle Edwards (AMA)

Several of the club's young guns are taking that opportunity, but none perhaps moreso than Kyle Edwards.

The 20-year-old, who was on loan at League Two Exeter City last season, was Albion's brightest spark at Swindon today across 120 minutes of football split into two hours.

Fleet-footed, strong, and athletic, he can carry the ball and cross it too. After an impressive first hour, he rounded the keeper to add Albion's second goal in a 3-1 win at the County Ground.

Edwards now has two goals from two games in pre-season, and is certainly catching the eye this summer.

He's not the only one. Jack Fitzwater has looked assured at the back for two games now, and despite the lower-league opposition, there is enough to suggest the 20-year-old, who was brilliant on loan at Walsall last season, could be a welcome find at centre-back.

Kane Wilson, an 18-year-old full-back, also laid on a gorgeous assist for Albion's first goal and Kyle Jameson, a 19-year-old centre-back, powered home a brilliant header from a Matt Phillips cross for their third.

It is only pre-season, of course, and Albion were up against League Two opposition, but some of the youngsters are flourishing in the spotlight being afforded to them.

There was still no James McClean or Craig Dawson at the County Ground, as both players agitate for moves away.

Kieran Gibbs, Salomon Rondon and Sam Field are all nursing injuries, while Allan Nyom and Sam Johnstone were also absent. Ahmed Hegazi is back in on Monday.

Free agents Kieran Richardson, Martin Cranie and Nigel Reo-Coker all featured, and there was a welcome return to action for Jake Livermore and James Morrison, who played his first game for nearly 10 months.

Morrison started the match in behind Jay Rodriguez in a 4-4-1-1, and Darren Moore is planning to experiment with formations in pre-season.

However, it was Swindon's first choice XI that began more lively, and ten minutes in Elijah Adebayo flashed a dangerous cross across the six-yard box.

After that, Albion's senior professionals started to gain control of proceedings, as the quality in the middle of captain Chris Brunt and Livermore, who might have beeen playing in a World Cup third-place play off in an alternative universe, started to tell.

But the most encouraging performances were coming from Morrison, Fitzwater and Edwards.

Fitzwater looked confident at centre-back, and Edwards was Albion's brightest spark.

Those two combined in the 25th minute when Fitzwater ran forward in Harry Maguire-fashion before laying the ball off to Edwards, whose trickery beat two men in the box.

He laid the ball on a plate to Morrison, whose first-time goalbound shot was saved well by Lawrence Vigouroux.

But the Baggies weren't to be denied much longer, and on the half-hour mark they took the lead thanks to their promising youngsters.

This time it was Edwards who carried the ball forward at pace before laying it off to 18-year-old full-back Wilson on the overlap.

The teenager's first-time cross was inch-perfect and the ball was bundled in. It looked like an own goal but the announcer gave it to Rodriguez.

Swindon drew level in the 44th minute with a simple goal when veteran left-back Matty Taylor slid a low cross in that was gobbled up at the back post by Adebayo.

Albion made a host of changes during the 15-minute break in between hours, but left Edwards on the pitch, and it didn't take long for the 20-year-old to get a well-deserved goal.

Bending his run off the wing, he latched on to a perfectly-weighted ball in behind the full-back from Rekeem Harper before rounding the keeper and tucking home into an empty net.

Palmer pulled off a great save to deny Lloyd Sam an equaliser in the 75th minute, before Jameson powered home a header from a Phillips corner soon after to make it 3-1.

The game petered out for the final and extra half-hour with neither team threatening the goal too much, but some of the youngsters have given Moore food for thought on the journey home.

Teams

Albion (first hour): Palmer, Wilson, Fitzwater, Cranie, Richardson, Leko, Livermore, Morrison (Harper 50), Brunt, Edwards, Rodriguez.

Albion (second hour): Palmer (House 90), Wilson (Dyche 77), Fitzwater (Jameson 77), Cranie (O'Shea 77), Melbourne, Barry, Harper, Reo-Coker, Tulloch, Edwards (Burke 77), Phillips.

Swindon (first hour): Vigorouroux, Knoyle, Taylor, Smith, Robertson, Romanski, McGlashan, Alzate, Adebayo, Iandolo, Anderson.

Swindon (second hour): McCormick, Dunne, Stanley, Haines, Romanski, Graham, Edwards, Young, Sam, Pryce, Twine.

Goals

30' Swindon 0-1 WBA - Rodriguez

44' Swindon 1-1 WBA - Adebayo

66' Swindon 1-2 WBA - Edwards

82' Swindon 1-3 - Jameson