U18s' duel with Wolves finishes all square
Liverpool U18s were held to a 1-1 draw in the third of their Barclays U18 Premier League play-offs against Wolves at the Kirkby Academy on Saturday afternoon.
The Reds were ahead in the game after 12 minutes thanks to superb link-up play between Trent Alexander-Arnold and Yan Dhanda, which allowed the former to sweep home the opening goal.
However, Neil Critchley's side were pegged back within five minutes, as Wolves picked apart the home side's defence with a sprawling move which was finished calmly by Brad Lindsey.
Wolves were full of power and pace and showed their strengths throughout the first half, especially when Mekhi Leacock-McLeod knocked the ball around George Johnston, raced off the pitch and back into play, speeding beyond the Liverpool man before squaring into the middle.
The Reds took the lead in style, though. Dhanda collected a loose ball inside the penalty area and went toe-to-toe with Aaron Simpson. He dropped the shoulder, shuffled and toyed with the ball, allowing Alexander-Arnold to race around his outside and smash home a perfect prodded pass.
But Wolves bit back. Jesse Devers, their powerful centre-forward, raced clear down the right channel. The youngster had acres of space and time to pick out Lindsey, arriving into the box, and he applied a simple side-footed finish between the legs of Shamal George to equalise.
Dhanda was Liverpool's stand-out player, but Harvey Whyte schemed alongside him in the midfield. Head up, looking to pick passes, he was at his most creative when he clipped a stunning ball over the top to Will Marsh, who controlled and drew a smart save from Harry Burgoyne.
Devers had the ball in the back of the net when Ross Finnie spun a pass through the Liverpool lines into the striker, who finished calmly on the volley, but he was rightly adjudged to have drifted into an offside position.
Critchley's side fired a couple of warning shots prior to the interval. First Dhanda raced onto a corner from the left to power a header narrowly over the bar before Whyte shimmied into space on the edge of the area and shot wide of the post.
There was a let-off for the Reds early in the second half when Wolves outnumbered them by four players to two on the counter. However, Leacock-McLeod was poor in his distribution as he approached the penalty area and Matthew Virtue was able to hook the ball clear.
Liverpool looked better in the second half, playing the ball about with more urgency and intent and in the 64th minute they almost unlocked what had become a sturdy Wolves back-line. Dhanda and Ejaria took turns to weave through a cluster of shirts before the play broke for Ejaria, whose venomous shot was blocked.
On came Wade Maxwell, who got the winner against Leicester City last weekend, and he flew straight into the action, scampering towards players and making a nuisance of himself. After two minutes of being on the park he connected with Virtue's corner but could only steer the ball wide.
Alexander-Arnold hooked a shot off the line after Anthony Brown was allowed to turn in acres of space inside the Liverpool penalty area before firing a half-volley goalwards, while George kept the Reds in the game when he denied Devers.
Deep into injury time, Alexander-Arnold almost claimed a dramatic victory for his side when he broke through the opposition ranks and arrowed a shot off the underside of the crossbar. The ball bounced clear, though, and the young Reds were forced to settle for a point.
Liverpool U18s: George, Virtue, Johnston, Whelan (Kane), Parker, Alexander-Arnold, Nicholas (Owens), Whyte, Marsh (Maxwell), Ejaria, Dhanda.