Pipa, who arrived at West Bromwich Albion in the summer, completed 45 minutes of action for the club’s U21 side on Monday night as the Spaniard gained valuable playing time in his bid to force his way into the starting XI.
Played by Carlos Corberan.
Pipa arrived on the final day as a contender and replacement for first-choice right-back Darnell Furlong, but he is yet to make his debut.
Richard Beale’s young Albion were beaten 3-0 by the Whites, who were flying high at the start of this campaign and have won all five of their PL2 games to date.
However, Monday night at Hednesford is also a chance for midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah to get a few more minutes of playing time; Chalobah came on as a substitute for former club Watford in Albion’s 2-2 draw last week, but was an unused substitute against Bristol City and Millwall.
Chalobah, who arrived from Fulham in January and is under contract until the end of this season, also played the required 45 minutes and despite being injured in the first half, he continued and completed the regulation time.
He appears to have fallen behind Alex Mowatt in midfield after Mowatt tried his luck on Saturday and impressed.
The evening did not go entirely smoothly for Beale’s young talent; Center back Jamal Mohammed and midfielder Alex Williams were both forced off the field within the first 20 minutes, forcing Beale to introduce Caleb Taylor before leaving the field in the second half as planned – however he would finish just over 45 mins.
, when he was replaced by Harry Whitwell early in the second half.
Tom Fellows also played 45 minutes in the entire second half, while there was more positive news for Josh Shaw who, after a long lay-off, continued to return with more minutes – he came on for almost 70 minutes in the second half.
here after replacing the suffering Williams.
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Albion are also without summer import Ruben Shakpoke.
Meanwhile, the return of Reyes Cleary continues to await; The striker suffered a serious hamstring injury last season and has not been seen since April.
Cleary scored 16 goals in 12 PL2 games last year and played against Sheffield United and Derby in the EFL Cup under Steve Bruce as well as appearing twice in the Championship under interim boss Beale.
He was also started by Corberan in the FA Cup replay against Chesterfield.