A very young Liverpool u18s side were left disappointed after they lost 3-1 to Newcastle United on Saturday. The young Reds dominated the match as Adam Phillips started to control the game from the middle of the park. However, it was Newcastle that took the lead after Sean Longstaff scored two goals in the space of nine minutes. Liverpool were perhaps lucky to be only 2-0 down at half time as Newcastle missed the target with a glorious chance falling to Longstaff again. Liverpool halved the deficit after the interval when defender Corey Whelan headed in a Phillips corner. Newcastle soon restored the two goal margin after a monumental goalmouth scramble saw Stefan Broccoli power home and Liverpool were left to rue their missed opportunities.
The U21s were in action on Monday against league leaders Chelsea and their in-form striker Dominic Solanke. The match started brightly as both sides tested each other’s defence but it was the Reds who took the lead when a Chelsea defender was adjudged to have fouled striker Jerome Sinclair in the box. The resulting spot kick was smashed home by Welshman Harry Wilson. Liverpool controlled the game and were wary of occasional threats from a Chelsea side, who always seem to score against the opposition. However, in the second half it was Liverpool who struck again after Sergi Canos fed Sinclair on the left- Sinclair showed great pace to get into the box before letting fly brilliantly from a tight angle. The score remained 2-0 and Liverpool will be proud of a great win and a clean sheet to match.
“Chelsea are a real top team – anyone who knows anything about youth development and the players they’ve got and the investment they’ve made knows that, so that’s a credible performance tonight. The game at their place at the end of the season now will take on a whole new level because we’ve laid a marker down and they’ll want to knock us out of the way I’m sure. These boys are just looking for a chance and they won’t let anybody down. They’re certainly showing they’re worthy of the Liverpool shirt,” Liverpool boss Michael Beale told the Liverpool Echo.
The u18s were back in action against Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday in what was their last match of the regular season before the play-offs. The Reds were determined to end a run of three loses and round of the season on a high. Adam Phillips scored two goals with the second of his being a fantastic half-volley. Ovie Ejaria and Sam Hart added to the goals to make it 4-0 to Liverpool but Blackburn did manage to breach the Liverpool defence and score two goals themselves. The match ended 4-2 to the Reds.
Here’s what Neil Critchley had to say to liverpoolfc.tv about the win: “It was nice for them to play well and to get the win. That will give them some confidence and they were deserving of that today. We were excellent for 65 minutes. We dominated the game and scored some very good goals. We tired a little bit for the last 25 minutes and conceded two soft goals.”
The u18s have finished 7th in their league and will now play seven games against teams from the Southern Division. Meanwhile, the u21s will be in action in the mini-derby against Everton on Monday 9th March, kick off 19:00. (Live on LFC TV).
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