Darren Moore 'relieved' to see resolute West Brom youngsters progress in cup

Albion scraped past their League Two opposition at The Hawthorns thanks to first senior goals from Jonathan Leko and Kyle Edwards.

The Baggies' youngsters sparkled in a dominant first half but faded in the second before clinging on at the death.

"I was relieved in the end," admitted Moore. "The big thing for me was having made so many changes – we had five or six academy graduates involved – is that as well as getting through to the next round it helped the development of those young players on the pitch.

"It's great for their careers going forward. I'm very pleased the way they acquitted themselves, we dominated for the first hour and should have put the game to bed with the chances we created.

"I felt that they might run out of steam in the latter parts of the game and it proved that way. In the end we hung on."

After Leko gave Albion the lead in the 26th minute the Baggies missed a host of chances before Neal Bishop equalised with 20 minutes to go.

But four minutes later Edwards rifled his first goal into the top corner to restore the lead before the Baggies clung on.

"The way Mansfield pegged them back, I thought the boys, for a young group, showed a lot of resilience and character to get the winning goal and hold on," added Moore.

"It was a bit frantic the last few minutes. Boaz (Myhill) took a lot of pressure off us, he played his part in that. Overall I'm really happy."

Albion started four academy graduates and in the first half Leko, Edwards, and Rekeem Harper all caught the eye. Two of them scored.

Moore brought Kyle Howkins, another academy graduate, off the bench in the second half while 16-year-old Morgan Rogers was an unused substitute.

"There were some eye-catching performances from the youngsters showing flashes and glimpses of what they can do," added Moore.

"We were not ruthless enough in front of goal to put the chances to bed. That's the one small critique I would have."