West Bromwich Albion 3 Harrogate Town 0: Premier League class shows in the end, but Simon Weaver's men can hold their heads up

League Two newcomers Harrogate Town knew that they were always going to be up against it when they took on Premier League West Bromwich Albion in the second round of the Carabao Cup, but they certainly didn't disgrace themselves at the Hawthorns.

Simon Weaver will take plenty of positives from his side's performance on the night, particularly the fearless way that they attempted to get on the ball and play their own game during a first half which saw them conceded twice without ever really coming under a sustained spell of pressure.

In the end, the Baggies' class shone through, and they perhaps could have won by a greater margin, though it took two stunning long-range strikes to put the home side in control of the contest.

It wasn't to be their night, but the most important thing for Harrogate to take away from this experience is the knowledge that if they continue to deliver such levels of performance in League Two, then they're certain to win more than they lose over the course of the season.

The underdogs competed well during the opening quarter of an hour and probably just about shaded possession, without managing to make much of an impression in the final third.

They did however find themselves a goal down out of nowhere with 18 minutes on the clock.

Rekeem Harper seized upon Lloyd Kerry's attempted clearance, turned cleverly to buy himself half a yard and then whipped a 25-yarder beyond Joe Cracknell and just inside the Town custodian's right-hand upright.

With the Baggies suddenly alive, Polish international Kamil Grosicki beat the offside and went one-on-one with Cracknell, but was denied by a smothering block.

The home lead was however doubled after 24 minutes when Hal Robson-Kanu was perhaps afforded just a fraction too long to pick his spot in a position similar to the one Harper from which Harper broke the deadlock, and caressed a delightful left-footed strike past Cracknell's despairing dive.

The Town response to conceding for a second time was fairly impressive. Having wasted little time feeling sorry for themselves, they almost pulled a goal back just before the half-hour-mark.

George Thomson's hanging free-kick was helped on to the far post, where Aaron Martin noddedd back across goal and drew a good stop out of David Button.

Josh Falkingham then picked out the towering figure of Mark Beck with a cross from the right, but the Harrogate number nine could only direct a weak header straight at the Baggies stopper.

Weaver could certainly have been forgiven for wondering how his team headed into the interval trailing by two, though the damage could and probably should have got worse less than two minutes after the resumption.

Kyle Edwards' drove down the left towards the byline before sending an inviting low centre across the face of goal where a stretching Charlie Austin could only divert the ball the wrong side of the back stick.

Town upped their game in the period that followed that let-off, hassling and harrying their opponents with real intent and playing some tidy football at times as they sought a route back into the contest.

It was the hosts who created the evening's next clear opening, however, Matty Phillips getting the better of Connor Hall in the left-hand channel then squaring for Austin, whose goal-bound strike was expertly cleared off the line by Warren Burrell.

With the game opening up, Hall then headed a good opportunity over the top from George Thomson's corner, before another important bit of last-ditch defending by Burrell thwarted Phillips after the West Brom attacker was played in behind.

Any lingering hopes of a Town comeback were extinguished 13 minutes from time when Edwards displayed some lovely skill to get away from Burrell down the right then rolled the ball to the waiting Callum Robinson, who could not miss from barely a yard out.

West Bromwich Albion: Button; Peltier, Kipre, O'Shea, Townsend; Edwards, Field, Harper, Grosicki (Phillips 55); Robson-Kanu (Sawyers 61), Austin (Robinson 73). Unused substitutes: Bond, Furlong, Ajayi, Soule.

Harrogate Town: Cracknell; Fallowfield (Jones 72), Smith, Hall, Burrell; Thomson, Falkingham, Kerry (Kirby 79), Muldoon; Beck (Stead 61), Martin. Unused substitutes: Minter, Kiernan, Walker, Lokko.

Referee: T Bramall.