Jones and Sinclair strike to give U21s win at Leicester

Lloyd Jones and Jerome Sinclair scored the goals to give Michael Beale’s team a deserved victory.

Jones - who is out on loan at Blackpool and, under the terms of the agreement, allowed to feature for the U21s side if he doesn’t play for the League One outfit at the weekend - broke the deadlock from a corner midway through the second half.

Sinclair then added the second with a neat run and finish to secure the win with seven minutes of the 90 remaining.

Liverpool bounced back from the 5-0 defeat against Southampton prior to the international break with a dominant display in all areas on the evening.

The scoreline, perhaps, didn’t truly reflect how superior the young Reds were, having missed a number of golden chances in the first half.

Kevin Stewart - who signed a new contract with the club back in February - returned to action for the first time in almost two months following the ankle injury sustained in first-team training.

The 22-year-old looked lively in his 63-minute outing, often winning the ball back for his team by pressuring the Leicester midfielders into submission.

Stewart was alongside Pedro Chirivella in the heart of the Liverpool midfield, with the in-form Sheyi Ojo on the wing and Cameron Brannagan in the No.10 role behind the striker.

In a quiet start to the affair, the Reds enjoyed the greater share of the possession.

The first real opportunity of the contest fell to the visitors 22 minutes in. A well-worked move saw Ojo set up Sinclair, but the forward squandered his chance in front of goal.

Just moments later, Ryan Kent then cleared Elliot Moore’s powerful header from a corner off the line to keep the game goalless.

The winger then went up the other end and almost provided the assist to break the deadlock.

Kent played in Sinclair with a wonderful through ball, however Daniel Iversen in the Foxes’ goal stood firm to deny the striker.

Ojo then blazed over the bar from a great chance before the winger shot wide after a wonderful solo run.

The young Reds will have been frustrated to enter the dressing room at half-time without an advantage to reflect their dominance.

But their efforts were finally rewarded in the 68th minute when Jones poked in from a set-piece.

Substitute Alex O’Hanlon delivered a threatening corner from the right and the centre-half was on hand at the back post to put the Reds into a deserved 1-0 lead.

The opening goalscorer was also involved in Liverpool’s second after he dispossessed a Leicester forward and gave the ball to Kent.

The England youth international played through Sinclair, who ran through on goal and delivered a powerful left-footed strike to seal the points.

Liverpool U21s: Bogdan, Randall, Maguire, Ilori, Jones, Stewart (McLaughlin 63), Kent (M Gomes 89), Chirivella (O’Hanlon 63), Sinclair, Brannagan (c), Ojo.