West Brom u21s 1-5 Nottingham Forest u21s – match report
Daryl Dike played 45 minutes and scored from the penalty spot on his return from an injury lay-off as Albion's under-21s lost 5-1 against Nottingham Forest.
The £7million January signing had not featured for three months due to a thigh tear but finally enjoyed his first action since an opening-day cameo at Middlesbrough as the young Baggies were humbled by 10-man Forest in PL2 action at The Hawthorns.
Dike, who was replaced at half-time by Kenneth Zohore who has been frozen out of first-team action, showed no signs of ill effects during his run-out, with some nice touches and strong running – as well as winning and converting from the spot at 2-0 down.
There was also involvement on a forgettable night for senior goalkeeper David Button – who made an error for Forest's opener – and defender Martin Kelly, who is yet to feature under Carlos Corberan.
The interest was all around how Dike would cope on his return to action after three months on the sidelines.
Many supporters in the Halfords Lane stand had barely taken their seats as visitors Forest raced into a 2-0 lead after just five minutes.
Both goals were disastrous from the hosts' perspective. The first was especially bad as a low ball out of the Forest defence sent Dale Taylor racing clear.
Button horribly misjudged the situation and was rounded easily by Taylor, who finished into the empty net from outside the box.
Things went from bad to worse for the youngsters and their experienced team-mates as defender Aaron Harper-Bailey, signed from non-league Rushall Olympic in September, cannoned a clearance from inside his own box against a gleeful Ollie Hammond, who saw it fly into the top corner.
Albion recovered from a horror start. Their main goal threat came through top scorer Reyes Cleary who shot narrowly across goal then at keeper Adnan Kanuric, who repelled his strike.
Forest were down to 10 men midway through the half with Billy Fewster dismissed for two cautions.
Some good running and smart feet by Dike on the edge of the box saw him clipped by a Forest defender. The returning frontman's penalty just about beat Kanuric to trickle over the line.
Forest re-established their two-goal lead in a matter of seconds, though, as Alex Gibson-Hammond's low strike found the corner from distance.
The bright Harry Whitwell and Cleary were both denied from distance. Skipper Zak Ashworth slid a free-kick narrowly wide after the break, by which point Dike's pre-planned replacement Zohore somehow failed to connect with a header.
Much of the second period was almost all Albion but Forest cleared well from several dangerous crosses. Zohore struggled to make any impact.
And the visitors broke with 20 minutes left to make it 4-1 through Zach Abbott as Albion's statuesque defenders stood and watched.
Forest, whose youth side won 5-0 at The Hawthorns in March, made it five through sub Lewis Salmon from the spot on a night to forget for the under-21s.
Albion under-21s (3-4-3): Button; Kelly, Hall, Harper-Bailey (Shaw, 45); Ingram (Wangusi, 75), Whitwell, Mfuamba, Ashworth (c); R Richards (Malcolm, 68), Dike (Zohore, 45), Cleary.
Subs not used: Hudd (gk).
Attendance: 385
Referee: James Durkin
