Albion made it four pre-season wins from four with a solid performance at League One Crawley.In an entertaining game played at a high tempo, goals from George Barker and an Andrew Crofts penalty secured the victory.
Garcia used 22 players on the night and there were impressive performances throughout the squad, which will give the new head coach plenty of encouragement as the new season draws ever closer.
In a lively start to the game it was Albion who created the first opening on eight minutes when Lewis Dunk ghosted into the box, only to see his deft effort fall the wrong side of the post.
Nicky Adams then tested Tomas Kuszczak with a long-range shot but as the half wore on, Albion started to get a foothold in the game.
Inigo Calderon was finding space down the right and in a typically surging run, he squared to Barker, only for the young striker to be foiled by Crawley defender Kyle McFazdean.
Solly March also tried his luck from distance on 25 minutes, while he also had a shot on the turn from Jake Forster-Caskey’s short free-kick soon after.
To their credit, Crawley attacked with purpose on the counter, but it was no surprise when Albion took the lead on 33 minutes – Barker tucking home from close range following a jinxing run on the left from the lively Kazenga LuaLua.
Nicky Adams looked Town’s liveliest player and he was unlucky to see a shot deflected wide for a corner off Dunk shortly before the break.
Crawley broke with purpose throughout the half without having a real cutting edge in front of goal but hey almost got back on level terms five minutes after the re-start; Adams’s cross from the right was headed goalwards by Jamie Proctor, but Peter Brezovan pulled off a superb reaction save to tip the ball over.
Moments later an Adams free-kick was touched home by Billy Clarke but as the Crawley players celebrated, the effort was chalked off for offside.
Albion then doubled their lead on 58 minutes when Ashley Barnes was brought down in the box by Mat Sadler, and Crofts stepped up to confidently dispatch the penalty.
Adams had a 20-yard free-kick pushed around a post by Brezovan while Josh Simpson also let fly with a stinging effort.
Albion made a flurry of substitutions with Leo Ulloa going close just seconds after coming on, while fellow sub Liam Bridcutt saw a fierce 25-yard strike tipped onto the bar by Paul Jones.
Crawley also hit the upright in the 77th minute when Mike Jones’s dipping effort from 25-yards took a deflection, while Proctor went close for a second time.
So Albion look forward to an Amex double-header against Villarreal and Norwich while Crawley will gain plenty of heart, particularly from their second-half performance.
Albion: (4-3-3) Kuszczak (Brezovan 45); Calderon (Upson 66) El-Abd, Dunk (Greer 66), Chicksen (Maksimenko 66);* Ince (Orlandi 66), Crofts (Dickenson 89), Forster-Caskey (Bridcutt 66); LuaLua (Buckley 66), Barker (Ulloa 66), March (Barnes 45 (Richards 89).
Att: 2,355 (1,012 Albion)
Original article
Garcia used 22 players on the night and there were impressive performances throughout the squad, which will give the new head coach plenty of encouragement as the new season draws ever closer.
In a lively start to the game it was Albion who created the first opening on eight minutes when Lewis Dunk ghosted into the box, only to see his deft effort fall the wrong side of the post.
Nicky Adams then tested Tomas Kuszczak with a long-range shot but as the half wore on, Albion started to get a foothold in the game.
Inigo Calderon was finding space down the right and in a typically surging run, he squared to Barker, only for the young striker to be foiled by Crawley defender Kyle McFazdean.
Solly March also tried his luck from distance on 25 minutes, while he also had a shot on the turn from Jake Forster-Caskey’s short free-kick soon after.
To their credit, Crawley attacked with purpose on the counter, but it was no surprise when Albion took the lead on 33 minutes – Barker tucking home from close range following a jinxing run on the left from the lively Kazenga LuaLua.
Nicky Adams looked Town’s liveliest player and he was unlucky to see a shot deflected wide for a corner off Dunk shortly before the break.
Crawley broke with purpose throughout the half without having a real cutting edge in front of goal but hey almost got back on level terms five minutes after the re-start; Adams’s cross from the right was headed goalwards by Jamie Proctor, but Peter Brezovan pulled off a superb reaction save to tip the ball over.
Moments later an Adams free-kick was touched home by Billy Clarke but as the Crawley players celebrated, the effort was chalked off for offside.
Albion then doubled their lead on 58 minutes when Ashley Barnes was brought down in the box by Mat Sadler, and Crofts stepped up to confidently dispatch the penalty.
Adams had a 20-yard free-kick pushed around a post by Brezovan while Josh Simpson also let fly with a stinging effort.
Albion made a flurry of substitutions with Leo Ulloa going close just seconds after coming on, while fellow sub Liam Bridcutt saw a fierce 25-yard strike tipped onto the bar by Paul Jones.
Crawley also hit the upright in the 77th minute when Mike Jones’s dipping effort from 25-yards took a deflection, while Proctor went close for a second time.
So Albion look forward to an Amex double-header against Villarreal and Norwich while Crawley will gain plenty of heart, particularly from their second-half performance.
Albion: (4-3-3) Kuszczak (Brezovan 45); Calderon (Upson 66) El-Abd, Dunk (Greer 66), Chicksen (Maksimenko 66);* Ince (Orlandi 66), Crofts (Dickenson 89), Forster-Caskey (Bridcutt 66); LuaLua (Buckley 66), Barker (Ulloa 66), March (Barnes 45 (Richards 89).
Att: 2,355 (1,012 Albion)
Original article