Albion put a lot of demands on what was officially known as their under-21s at the Amex.

Which is why clinching a place in the last eight of the Bristol Street Motors EFL Trophy was not the only reason for satisfaction.

It was a 0-0 draw followed by a successful penalty shoot-out which sparked euphoric post-match scenes.

Which led to Freed From Desire playing over the loudspeakers for the enjoyment of a few hundred fans.

But there was more to the evening than that.

There was also the way they played – and how they persisted with the desired style.

Winning the cup tie is great but there is far less mileage in it if they do so in a way which does not help players progress to be part of Roberto De Zerbi’s squad.

Albion passed from the back, looking to suck in pressing players and to open up spaces, and it went wrong occasionally.

But they got away with it, steadied themselves, tweaked the plan and emerged with a result which meant even more for way it was earned.

Albion coaches Shannon Ruth and Gary Dicker watched with pride as their team stuck to their beliefs and worked things out.

Ruth said: “That courage to play, to want the ball, is really important.

“Our job in the 21s is to try and prepare the players for Roberto.

“We have to keep practising playing out. We try to build from the goalkeeper upwards.

“Because they are young players, they will get it wrong.

“We just have to keep supporting them with that.

“Hopefully the more they practise, the more they understand the when, the where and the how. How you find the spare player.

“But the courage to keep doing it on a big night for them, I am delighted with them.”

Albion lengthened their game a little after the break.

They still wanted to attract the initial press with a short pass and then looked to go in behind.

The hosts created two notable moments when they may well have scored, though they also had escapes of their own.

As the final minutes ticked by, it seemed Albion were settling for a shoot-out.

But they were not helped when Samy Chouchane, one of their main penalty-takers, limped off with cramp.

It was Chouchane whose spot-kick sent the young Seagulls towards a 4-0 win at MK Dons in the previous round.

Ruth said: “With three minutes to go it was, do we keep him on and let him take a penalty or do we need someone to help us get to the final whistle?”.

Enter Harry Howell, with his dad and schoolteachers cheering him from the stand and more than willing step up.

It might not have come to that.

Joe Knight had the first match point but saw a decent enough penalty well saved by Joel Pereira, the former Manchester United and Hearts goalkeeper.

When Reading then converted their fifth penalty, Howell had to step up.

Ruth said: “He is only 15 years of age and a player we really believe in.

“He is a local boy and how cool he was under pressure is a really positive sign of things to come for him.

“He wanted to do it (take the fifth penalty).

“He is an attacking player with lots of ability and he is keen to impact games.

“He is an under-16 by age but plays regularly in our under-18s.

“Freddie Simmonds, who was also in the matchday squad, is also 15 and Joe Knight came on as a scholar.

“I am really pleased with the opportunity we can give young players.

“That’s across the board at this football club.

“If you are a young player there is no better place to be.

“We believe in young players. We hope the opportunity we give them stands them in good stead and, hopefully, when called upon they step up .

“Harry did that and I think the young players have done that over a very good period of time.”