Walsall's Under-18s suffered a late defeat at Shrewsbury Town in the EFL Youth Alliance Cup.
The Saddlers twice led through penalties from Joe Cairns and Dan O'Sullivan, only for the Shrews to restore parity through Lifumpa Mwandwe and then Tyrone Ofori, before Ryan Barnett struck late on to secure victory for Town.
Academy boss Graham Biggs said: "We're not getting the rub of the green at the moment.
"We're working hard to try to rectify it but it's bizarre really because there isn't a lot we're doing wrong.
"It was really disappointing to lose as I couldn't fault the boys' effort or work-rate.
"The productivity and developent of the players is very good and hopefully the wins will come.
"The most important thing is that the Academy is producing players and we're doing very well on that front."
Saddlers fans can watch highlights from the game by clicking the Play button on the video above.