A round-up from the Liverpool youth ranks as the Reds enjoy a successful weekend of results at all levels
Tyler Morton scored the only goal of the game as Liverpool Under-21s beat Manchester United 1-0 at Leigh Sports Village on Sunday afternoon to complete a superb weekend of results at all levels for the Reds.
After Arne Slot’s senior side had beaten Crystal Palace 1-0 at Selhurst Park on Saturday lunchtime, thanks to Diogo Jota’s early strike, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson’s U18s also beat the Eagles 5-2 in the Premier League Cup later that day. And Barry Lewtas’s side made three straight wins for the men’s teams over the weekend thanks to Morton’s second-half effort against the Red Devils.
On a weekend of goalkeeper upheaval following an illness to Caoimhin Kelleher and then a hamstring injury to Alisson Becker, which led to a senior debut for Vitezslav Jaros, it was shot-stopper Kornel Misciur who was one of the most impressive performers for the U21s as he made a string of saves to keep United at bay.
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Misciur made a number of saves throughout, with Ethan Ennis, Jack Fletcher, Habeeb Ogunneye, Dan Gore and Toby Collyer all denied, while Carter Pinnington also impressed at the back. Miscuir was excellent on the day as the young Reds secured an important victory on the road.
Kieran Morrison fashioned a presentable chance from Trey Nyoni’s pass in the second half but the left-footed winger flashed a strike wide at the near post after taking the shot on his weaker right.
The breakthrough came on 68 minutes when Morton pounced on a poor clearance from United goalkeeper Dermot Mee before converting at the second attempt after the initial shot was saved.
The result sees Liverpool up to second in Premier League 2 and Lewtas’s U21s return from the international break with the Merseyside derby against Everton on Saturday October 26, with a 2pm kick-off slated at the Kirkby Academy.
On Saturday, the U18s impressively forced a fightback from two goals down to beat Palace 5-2.
Josh Sonni-Lambie, Scofield Lonmeni, Kareem Ahmed and a Joe Bradshaw brace turned the game in the young Reds’ favour. There was even time for Sonni-Lambie to have a penalty saved by goalkeeper Marcus Hill.
Bridge-Wilkinson told Liverpoolfc.com: “It was a good performance, we went 2-0 down early on, but for the first time in a while I think the boys finally got it and it seemed to click.
“We performed really well for most of the game, the last 10 minutes aside, so it was a good day for us.
“I was really pleased with the character we showed. The team ethic was very good and there was nobody out there who played for themselves today and it shone through.”
The U18s host Sunderland in U18 Premier League North in their next game, on October 26. Kick-off for that game is 1pm.
