Summer signing for West Bromwich Albion Pipa played 45 minutes for Albion’s under-21s in the Premier League 2 on Monday night.
The summer arrival of West Bromwich Albion Pipa played 45 minutes for the club’s under 21s on Monday evening, gaining crucial competitive game-time in his bid to break into Carlos Corberan’s starting XI. Pipa joined on deadline day as competition and cover for first-choice right winger Darnell Furlong, however he has yet to make an appearance.
Corberan has already stated that Pipa, who was loaned from Ludogorets for the season, is ready to be called upon whenever needed, but the first half outing against Fulham in the Premier League 2 is believed to be especially useful while he awaits his return.
Richard Beale’s young Albion were turned over 3-0 by the Whites, who are flying at the beginning of this campaign and have won all five of their PL2 games to date. Monday night at Hednesford, though, was also an opportunity for midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah to get some more minutes under his belt; Chalobah came on at former club Watford in Albion’s 2-2 draw last week, but he was an unused substitute against Bristol City and Millwall.
Chalobah, who joined from Fulham in January and who has a contract which runs until the end of this season, also completed 45 minutes as advised and, despite picking up an injury in the first half, he continued and completed his allotted time. He would appear to have slipped behind Alex Mowatt in the midfield pecking order after Mowatt took his chance on Saturday and impressed. The evening didn’t go entirely smoothly for Beale’s young guns; centre half Jamal Mohammed and midfielder Alex Williams were both forced off the pitch in the space of the first 20 minutes, and that required Beale to introduce Caleb Taylor ahead of his planned second half outing – he would only complete a little over 45 minutes, though, as he was replaced by Harry Whitwell early in the second half.
Tom Fellows also played 45 minutes of the second period, while there was more good news in the form of Josh Shaw, who, after a lengthy layoff, continued his comeback with more minutes – he played nearly 70 minutes here after replacing the injured Williams. Albion were also missing summer signing Ruben Shakpoke.
Meanwhile, the wait for Reyes Cleary’s comeback continues; the striker suffered a devastating hamstring injury last season and hasn’t been seen since April. Cleary scored 16 goals in 12 PL2 games last season and appeared in the EFL Cup against both Sheffield United and Derby under Steve Bruce, as well as two Championship cameos under interim manager Beale. He .
Corberan also gave him a start in the FA Cup replay against Chesterfield.
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