U21s suffer heavy defeat to Southampton

Michael Beale’s side were comprehensively beaten at the Lookers Vauxhall Stadium in Chester through goals from Jake Hesketh, Josh Sims and a hat-trick by Jay Rodriguez.

Hesketh opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a cool finish before Rodriguez fired the Saints into a two-goal lead in the first half.

Immediately after the interval, Sims added a third and then Rodriguez fired in two more midway through the second half to condemn the young Reds to their second defeat within the space of a week following their elimination from the U21 Premier League Cup at West Ham on Wednesday.

With the two senior sides facing each other in the Barclays Premier League at the same time, Jordon Ibe started in a strong looking line-up alongside Adam Bogdan, Jose Enrique, Tiago Ilori, Pedro Chirivella and Joao Carlos Teixeira.

Despite a promising start by the young Reds, the visitors took the lead with just four minutes on the clock.

Hesketh picked up possession inside Liverpool’s 18-yard box and delivered a curled finish into the corner of Bogdan’s net to break the deadlock.

The goal sparked a good response from the hosts. Ibe tested Southampton goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga from a free-kick before lone striker Toni Gomes chased down a long ball and saw his resulting shot well-saved.

And Liverpool continued to control the affair but they were dealt a massive blow when the Saints doubled their lead through Rodriguez.

The forward - returning from injury - finished off an incisive counter-attacking move with a clinical finish in the 33rd minute.

Matters got even worse for the Reds following the restart. Within two minutes of the referee's whistle, Sims capitalised on Liverpool’s defence not clearing their lines from a cross and applied a looping finish over Bogdan to put the Saints in complete control.

The hosts were looking for a route back into the contest and committed bodies upfield in search of a lifeline.

But Southampton punished Liverpool on another counter with Rodriguez grabbing his second of the game, despite the best efforts of Bogdan - who got a strong hand on the striker’s powerful shot.

Rodriguez then secured the match ball by applying a deft touch on Hesketh’s strike from a corner to divert the ball into the back of net. The assistant referee waved away suggestions that a Southampton player was in an offside position and interfered with Bogdan’s view. 

With the Reds seemingly playing for pride in the last 20 minutes, Cameron Brannagan forced Gazzaniga into a good save after good work from Enrique on the left touchline.

Liverpool U21s: Bogdan, Randall, Enrique, Ilori, Maguire, Chirivella, Ibe (McLaughlin,70), Brannagan, T Gomes (Hart, 68), Kent, Teixeira (O’Hanlon, 68). Subs not used: Firth, M Gomes.