---
title: "Academy Review: Everton, Bradford and Loans"
canonical: "https://readliverpoolfc.com/columns/academy-review-everton-bradford-and-loans/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Oli Marecar"
section: "Columns"
published: "2015-03-11T09:28:27Z"
modified: "2015-03-11T09:28:27Z"
---

# Academy Review: Everton, Bradford and Loans

It was the mini-derby for the Liverpool U21s this week and Michael Beale’s side were eager to continue their good run against their Merseyside counterparts.

Mamadou Sakho was chosen to play for the reds as he continues his comeback from injury but the skipper for the night was young Cameron Brannagan.

The first half was a tight affair with the Reds marginally shading the possession stats. With the referee reluctant to caution the players, tenacious tackles were coming in from both sides throughout the match. The best chance of the first half fell to midfielder Brannagan when the ball bounced in front of him in the box, his sweetly struck volley crashed back off the bar; Jerome Sinclair ballooned the rebound.

Sakho, albeit reluctantly, was subbed off for the second half and Everton took the lead when a loose ball from Lloyd Jones was picked up by Toffees’ midfielder Gethin Jones and lay it off for Ryan Ledson to finish superbly past Lawrence Vigoroux.

Harry Wilson was then introduced in place of returning striker Jack Dunn and he was immediately involved in the Liverpool’s equaliser when his free kick eventually fell for Dan Cleary, another sub, to head home on his nineteenth birthday. It looked like the two clubs were going to share the Derby spoils this time but Harry Wilson stunned everyone.

In the 93rd minute, Wilson was given the ball on the right 30 yards way from goal; he advanced inside before unleashing a screamer into the top corner. With almost the last kick of the game, the Welsh international won it for the Reds. Here’s what Michael Beale had to say about the goal:

*“**Harry was really disappointed to miss out on the starting line-up but I told him he might come on and get a goal when the game opened up. He’s very one-sided so we constantly work on his right foot in his training programme. That moment is made for Harry Wilson, coming inside 20 yards out in the last minute, that’s the moment Harry lives for and he produced it tonight.**“*

The U18s were also in action on Tuesday in a friendly against Bradford City, the match finished 0-0.

The win leaves Liverpool in a good position in the table and next up for the young Reds is an away game against Southampton on Monday 16th March, kick off 19:00.

Also, Michael Beale has spoken about how a few players will be sent out loan in the next few days.

With the successful loan spell of Jordan Ibe and with Sheyi Ojo showing encouraging signs at Wigan, Alex Inglethorpe (Academy Director) and Brendan Rodgers are prepared to let the likes of Jerome Sinclair and Jack Dunn leave temporarily.

When asked about any potential loan deals, Beale told the Liverpool Echo:

*“**I think, yes, the (loan) window ends in the next 14 days and we’ve got a number of things, there’s a nice little break now where we can sit down and talk about them. I’m sure Alex will sit down with Brendan and make the correct decisions for the boys. There’s certainly a lot of interest and I don’t think anyone did themselves any harm tonight.**“*