The request to our photographer Simon Dack was very clear.

Obviously get some action pictures, he was told ahead of Albion under-21s’ tie with the Reading senior squad in the Bristol Street Motors EFL Trophy.

But also take photos of as many Albion players as possible which we can add to our files.

That should cover us for a few weeks in terms of under-21s picture archive.

Dacky fulfilled the request perfectly with an impressive collection of images.

But wouldn’t you know it? Less than a week later and more faces were emerging.

There was a new goalscorer on the block, for example, brought in from the under-18s.

That pretty much sums up life for Albion’s academy at the moment and the youth ranks will face their next test today when Leeds United visit Lancing in the FA Youth Cup fourth round.

Lines between under-21s and under-18s have become blurred to non-existent of late.

Remiero Moulton stepped up from the 18s this week to make quite an impression as the 21s beat Dinamo Zagreb.

He scored the opening goal from a cross by Harry Howell who, as a 15-year-old, plays for the under-18s.

Howell’s contemporary Freddie Simmonds, an unused sub against Reading, played as a composed looking centre-back in the European clash.

Joe Knight is another youngster who has helped the 21s in a super week which also included a league win over Liverpool.

Charlie Tasker, on the right, and Zane Albarus, in the midfield battle, did well as subs against what was also a very young Dinamo side.

On the flip side, some of these youngsters were on the end of a Senior Cup upset at Steyning this season.

Focus now switches to officially the under-18s and the FA Youth Cup, a competition in which Albion have had their moments in the past.

Be it, for example, Lewis Dunk’s assured display against Everton opposite number Shane Duffy, which made such an impression on Gus Poyet.

Be it a Jake Forster-Caskey free-kick to beat Jack Grealish’s Aston Villa at the Amex.

Be it Peter Gwargis, Ryan Longman and Hayden Roberts scoring in a 3-1 win at Mason Greenwood’s Manchester United.

Or Zak Emmerson firing in to beat a Manchester City side which included Rico Lewis, Romeo Lavia and Carlos Borges, who played for the senior Ajax aside at the Amex this season.

Albion won 4-1 at Harrogate in the previous round and gave their head coach Inigo Calderon a taste of what the competition means.

Calderon said: “I enjoy the FA Youth Cup more now because I understand what it’s about.

“I thought it was like any other cup competition, my focus was on the league.

“But against Harrogate it showed me how much this tournament means. I really like it.

“It’s a good challenge for us because it’s special for the players, special for the club.

“It’s a challenge now to see if the progress we have shown in the last few weeks reflects on the pitch."

Dealing with big occasions is a key part of the player development process.

That was what made their approach to facing Reading at the Amex so impressive – how they stuck to their brave way of playing from the back.

Under-21s boss Shannon Ruth has called in under-18s this week with some caution over workload, keeping their FA Youth Cup tie in mind.

He made it clear ahead of the Reading game that academy football is about team results as well as individual development.

Progress today will help set up further experiences for the 18s.

Speaking ahead of the season, Calderon said: “It is not about developing players rather than the team winning - or the other way around.

“If the team perform better, probably the individual player has to be better as well.

“How do you say – chicken and egg? For me it’s like that.”