Express & Star

Five talking points from West Brom's victory over Luton Town

An experimental Albion side beat Luton Town in the first round of the Carabao Cup last night thanks to Oliver Burke's first senior goal for the club. Here are five talking points from an intriguing encounter.

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Sam Field and Oliver Burke celebrate the goal. (AMA)

1 HAS DARREN MOORE FOUND HIS FOURTH STRIKER?

Oliver Burke arrived last summer with plenty of promise, but it’s taken 12 months for him to score his first senior goal for the club, and it owed a lot to a change in position.

Burke struggled for minutes last season because successive managers didn’t trust his defensive duties, but playing up front in a central position appears to get the best out of his skill-set.

His electric pace running off the last man will cause defences problems, and he showed a cool head in front of goal.

2 THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT

Rekeem Harper showed flashes of potential on his first start for the club, and the 18-year-old looked at home alongside a senior professional like James Morrison. One defence-splitting pass to Conor Townsend was particularly memorable.

Kyle Edwards, who impressed in pre-season, was lively on the right wing in the second half after coming off the bench for his debut and Jonathan Leko took to a new central role behind the strikers.

Together with Sam Field (more on him below), these four could have a big part to play this season.

3 CONOR STAKES HIS CLAIM

The left-back built on an encouraging debut at Norwich with an all-action performance at wing-back.

Pacy, determined, and with a useful delivery, the 25-year-old already looks like a find after being snapped up from Scunthorpe for just £750,000.

After a couple of lacklustre performances from Kieran Gibbs, Townsend is knocking on the door of the starting XI, and depending on fatigue, may just keep his place for this weekend’s match with QPR, particularly if Moore opts for the same formation.

4 SAM FIELD TAKES TO HIS NEW ROLE

Considering it was his first match of the season after a summer blighted by injury, and considering it was an alien role to him, the 20-year-old put in an mature and solid performance in a back three.

His ability on the ball made him a constant outlet for goalkeeper, defenders and midfielders alike, and he was tough in the tackle too.

Field was unlucky not to feature more last season, and he faces stiff competition in midfield this campaign, where Morrison also impressed last night, but perhaps this new role will get him the starting berth he deserves.

5 IS THIS NEW SYSTEM THE FUTURE FOR MOORE’S SIDE?

It wasn’t a rip-roaring game by any stretch, and there was limited goalmouth action. But Albion’s 3-4-1-2 system and insistence on playing both out from the back and on the deck was a breath of fresh air.

Perhaps we are seeing the first signs of influence from Graeme Jones, Moore’s number two, who played a similar system with Belgium at the World Cup.

It certainly looked like Matt Phillips, Townsend, and Harvey Barnes were being readied to play this formation in the future, and perhaps most interestingly, it allows Albion to play a number 10 while keeping two holding midfielders and two strikers on the pitch.