Wolves end Reds' hunt for title
Liverpool U18s' hopes of winning the Premier Academy League Group C title are over after they were held to 2-2 draw by Wolves on Friday afternoon.
The young Reds twice went ahead through Henoc Mukendi but saw their dreams ended by equalising goals from Liam McAlinden and Anthony Forde.
It means the Reds finish second in the standings, one point behind Everton who are crowned champions.
Rodolfo Borrell's side will feel they should have had the opportunity to win it in stoppage time when substitute Michael Ngoo was held back in the penalty area. However, the referee waved away the appeals and with it the home team's hopes of the championship.
Ahead of the encounter the Spanish coach had drafted reserve midfielder Michael Roberts into his starting line-up as he looked to bolster his side with key personnel still on England duty at the U17 European Championships.
The former Tranmere youngster was returning to action following the news that his close friend Michael 'Mikey' McNally had passed away.
The reaction of his teammates was to sport t-shirts paying tribute to the boyhood red in the warm-up and was another example of the fantastic unity that exists within the camp.
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It was all set up for Liverpool to put on a show but it was the visitors who had the first opportunity of note on five minutes.
A delicate through ball sent Johnny Gorman rampaging in on goal. The Northern Ireland international showed great composure to round the onrushing Tyrell Belford but saw his low shot brilliantly hacked off the line by the covering Stephen Sama.
The hosts responded and Kristjan Emilsson released Toni Silva but the Portuguese winger stumbled just as he looked set to pull the trigger.
There certainly seemed to be one or two nerves creeping into the bumper Kirkby crowd but they were soon settled on 19 minutes.
Another trademark ball in behind the full back from Adorjan gave Mukendi a clear run at goal and he made no mistake with a low shot under the 'keeper.
The Hungarian was at the heart of all of Liverpool's best moves and there was almost a carbon copy of the opener on the half hour mark.
Another audacious flick found Mukendi racing into the left side of the penalty area but this time his stinging shot was brilliantly beaten away by Aaron McCarey.
A second goal looked on the cards and only Silva will know how he managed to miscue at the far post after Joe Rafferty flicked a near post corner across the six yard box.
Wolves had offered very little as the half had progressed but gave a warning to Liverpool five minutes before the interval when Forde curled a free-kick just shy of the post with Belford rooted to the spot.
Borrell had opted to replace Emilsson with hat-trick hero Ngoo at Wolves earlier in the week and he decided to make the same change at the interval.
However, it was Wolves who were quickest out of the traps and within three minutes of the restart they were level.
A searching ball from the right-wing was hooked back across goal by Jordan Cranston, allowing McAlinden the opportunity to head past birthday boy, Belford from close range.
It was the worst possible start to the second period for the home side but they restored their lead just before the hour mark courtesy of a moment of fortune.
Mukendi won possession on the right side of the midfield before cutting in towards goal. The towering frontman assessed his options and then fired in a speculative 30 yarder that McCarey allowed to bounce over his outstretched arms and into the far corner.
The relief within the watching crowd was tangible and they were almost celebrating a third just 60 seconds later but Ngoo crashed over the top after Mukendi had seized upon a misplaced pass deep in Wolves territory.
As the clock ticked down the visitors pushed for an equaliser and with 12 minutes left Forde sizzled in a 25 yard strike that arrowed in at the near post.
The Reds needed to dig deep to get the win they required and Sama missed a glorious chance soon after when he failed to convert from close range.
Liverpool continued to press and Silva saw a low shot deflected to safety after clever work by Ngoo before the big striker was brilliantly denied by McCarey.
Silva then blazed wide from the right-side of the box as they lay siege to the Wolves goal but it wasn't to be, and Craig Roddan was sent off at the final whistle for venting his frustration after the referee refused to point to the spot following a tumble by Ngoo.
As our photographer brilliantly illustrates this is the moment below when Ngoo had his penalty claim turned down.
Liverpool U18s: Belford, Rafferty, McGiveron, Coady, Sama, Roddan, Roberts (Walsh 87), Silva, Mukendi, Adorjan, Emilsson (Ngoo 46). Unused subs: King, Stephens, Hatch.
Click on the play button below to see our penalty claim
