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A total of 22 players featured for Albion in their first pre-season fixture of the campaign against Bolton Wanderers at St. George’s Park.
The encounter ended 2-1 to Bolton, with Brandon Thomas-Asante scoring for the Baggies and Kyle Dempsey and Aaron Collins on target for Wanderers.
Carlos Corberán’s side raced into a 1-0 lead inside the opening 90 seconds.
Darnell Furlong drove beyond his man and played a low ball into the middle of the penalty area where Thomas-Asante was waiting to side-foot past the Trotters’ stopper.
The forward almost had a second in the middle of the half, however this time his effort was saved.
Teenager Ollie Bostock looked lively throughout and his cross from the left found its way to the back post and Jed Wallace. Unfortunately, the skipper couldn’t keep his strike down and the ball flew over the bar.
Bolton scored an equaliser moments before the interval. Dempsey received a pass on the edge of the box and rifled a well-hit drive into the net.
Both teams made a host of changes ahead of the start of the second period, with the Baggies fielding a completely different eleven.
Summer signings Ousmane Diakité and Torbjørn Heggem came on for their maiden appearances in Albion colours, with midfielder Jayson Molumby earning his first minutes since New Year’s Day.
Diakité almost made a dream start, darting through the middle of the pitch into the penalty area. Fortunately for Wanderers, two defenders dived in to block his shot and the ball ran out for a corner.
At the other end, striker Collins was put through one-on-one with Ted Cann between the Baggies’ sticks. The Bolton man rounded the stopper, however his goal-bound attempt was superbly cleared by defender Reece Hall, who collided with the post in the process.
Tom Fellows was then released down the right by Josh Maja and his low cross found Fenton Heard. Frustratingly for the academy graduate, his shot was comfortably saved.
