'The last little bit...' - West Brom's Leigh Downing eyes next step and outlines top performers
Albion under-21s boss Leigh Downing called on his youngsters to focus on the final touch in the hunt for improved results.
The young Baggies have struggled to get up and running in 2026 but responded from four Premier League 2 defeats with progress in the Premier League Cup.
Albion booked their place in the quarter-final this week with a 1-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers at Alexander Stadium.
Attacker Remar McNeil, 16, bagged the winner with an early tap-in inside 10 minutes after an effort from striker Eseosa Sule, who spent the first half of the season on loan at Motherwell, was parried.
The hosts were more comfortable in a tie low on clear goalscoring opportunities and it took the R's until the final 20 minutes to test Ben Cisse in Albion's goal. QPR saw Isak Alemayehu dismissed for a second yellow card late on as the Baggies comfortably progressed.
"If we weren't creating the chances I'd be wanting us to do more in the final third but we've created chances to score two or three," Downing said.
"Now it's the last little bit, the decision-making to select the right finish or do one more pass to finish the game off and make it more comfortable in those final stages.
"I'm pleased for the lads as we've had a few tough weeks and last two or three games.
"It's a nice feeling in a competition we've done well in recent years and the lads are really pleased.
"I would've liked us to maybe score two or three more to put the game to bed but there were lots of good performances from individuals, so that's really pleasing."
It has been a tough league campaign for the young Baggies, who sit bottom of the 29-team PL2 table with just one win from 13 contests. They have slumped into bottom spot after defeats to Leicester, Southampton, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest since action resumed in the new year.
McNeil, a regular in Chay Thompson's under-18s, was rewarded with an under-21 start in the knockout tie and repaid the faith with the tie's only goal.
Another scholar to catch the eye was midfielder Ryan Colesby, formerly of Wolves.
Albion's side also contained Mo Diomande, Noah DuPont and Kevin Mfuamba, who have all made an impression around the first-team squad.
"For him (McNeil) to be a first-year scholar and having a little taste of under-21s football is credit to how well he's done in the under-18s," Downing added.
"Ryan Colesby as a second-year scholar was excellent in possession, he looked to find the ball and control the game. A lot of our good bits of play came through him."
Downing's side head to sixth-placed Liverpool in a bid to climb from the foot of the table on Sunday (2pm).
