Brannagan strikes as U21s edge Black Cats

Michael Beale's side, playing in only their second game of 2015 and third match in as many months, were forced to fight tooth and nail against stubborn opposition at the Kirkby Academy.

Brannagan's strike, tucked away after a surge from the lively Harry Wilson, was enough to settle the tie and make it back-to-back wins for the young Reds following their triumph over Manchester City last weekend.

Monday's game started tentatively. Space was at a premium under the floodlights and there was little room for explosive bursts or intricate passing as two teams, separated by a point in the standings, played out a cagey opening.

Liverpool's back four were allowed to shift the ball neatly between themselves, but when they tried to venture forward, playing through Alex O'Hanlon and Jordan Williams in the middle of the park, the Reds were closed and harried instantly.

Sunderland enjoyed a positive spell, blue shirts momentarily managing to inject pace into the game and with George Honeyman pulling the strings, drifting into space, spraying passes across the field and causing problems for the Reds' defence.

Honeyman swerved a pinpoint ball into Mikael Mandron, Sunderland's towering No.9, who had the goal in his sights until Ryan McLaughlin flung himself low to block the path and afford his Liverpool teammates time to regroup and retrieve possession.

In Wilson and Jerome Sinclair, though, Liverpool possessed players capable of producing something out of nothing, of sensing a weakness and striking with ruthless efficiency. Capable of biding their time, too, which was something they had to do throughout the first half.

But what truly opened Sunderland up was O'Hanlon taking control of proceedings. Stifled by the opposition at first, the Irishman elected to drop inside his own half and buy an extra yard of space. His Sunderland minders switched off for a moment, leaving O'Hanlon with the ball at his feet and the play spread out in front of him.

That was all he needed to send a sumptuous 50-yard pass into the area where Wilson was arriving, and while the Welshman controlled, he was unable to lift the ball over Joel Dixon in the Sunderland goal and the scores remained level.

Liverpool had pried apart Sunderland for the first time, though, and now the red shirts started to buzz with ascendancy. Brannagan nodded to Sinclair, who galloped into the penalty area where he was floored by Tom Beadling, only for strong penalty appeals to be waved away.

Undeterred, the home side went on to forge the breakthrough. O'Hanlon, streaming forward through the middle of the park, allowed the ball to bounce from the turf before stunning it with the outside of his boot, sending a perfect pass flying into the path of Wilson.

The winger still had plenty to do, but he surged forward relentlessly. Dipping the shoulder for a millisecond was enough to tie one Sunderland defender up in knots before he sped into the six-yard box and squared for Brannagan, who fired home from close range.

Liverpool looked in control after the interval, but the first real opportunity of the second half fell to Sunderland substitute Rees Greenwood, who shimmied back and forth on the edge of the Reds' penalty area to beat Kevin Stewart before firing a shot narrowly over the bar.

Tackles started to fly in and Sunderland began to forge opportunities; however, Williams, who was clattered in one particular challenge, kept his composure and managed to instil a degree of calm throughout the Liverpool ranks.

The midfielder, who has spent time training with the first team at Melwood, towered over the opposition and was assured in possession, striding forward with the ball at his feet, threading simple passes across the floor.

With early second-half resurgence from the visitors waning, Beale introduced Daniel Trickett-Smith, who decided the game against City last weekend with a decisive late penalty, in place of Connor Randall, while Wilson was withdrawn for Sergi Canos.

Space began to open up in large pockets across the field and Liverpool were able to drive forward on the counter-attack, working the ball out to the likes of Trickett-Smith and Canos, while Stewart used his pace to fly down the right flank.

Overall, this was a game in which the young Reds found their rhythm interrupted constantly by an unyielding Sunderland side, who fought hard throughout the 90 minutes. However, Beale's charges ground out the result, matching their opponents from first whistle to last in what was a physical and demanding contest.

And at full-time in Kirkby, the Liverpool lads were able to celebrate a deserved three points to go hand-in-hand with a successive league victory and the prospect of a packed schedule of matches to relish in the coming weeks.

Liverpool U21s: Fulton, McLaughlin (Stewart), Smith, Jones, Maguire, Williams, Randall (Trickett-Smith), O'Hanlon, Sinclair, Brannagan, Wilson (Canos). Unused subs: Vigouroux, Cleary.