PreviewLFC U18s update: Newcastle clash, Nyoni progress and Figueroa call-up

Sixteen-year-old Trey Nyoni delivered a brilliant individual goal and also provided an assist as Jayden Danns continued his record of scoring in every competitive game at U18 level so far this season.

The young Reds led 2-1 at one stage against Fulham but a strong second-half display by the visitors saw them come out winners in the end.

Bridge-Wilkinson’s charges return to league action this Saturday and will hope to bounce back to winning ways when they host Newcastle United at the Academy. Kick-off is set for 1pm BST in Kirkby and subscribers can watch the match live on LFCTV and LFCTV GO here.

Read on as Bridge-Wilkinson speaks to Liverpoolfc.com about the Fulham loss, the progress of Nyoni, an U17 World Cup call-up for Keyrol Figueroa, and more...

On last Saturday’s 5-3 loss to Fulham…

I thought we made a bit of an iffy start and then grew into the game. In the first half we actually played really well and went 2-1 up so I was really pleased with the style and the way we played the game. In the second half things went against us a bit and we struggled then. I don’t think it was as heavy a loss like it ended up being, but we weren’t as good as we were in the first half.

With young players, confidence is a big thing and belief is also a big thing. Sometimes when that’s knocked a little bit it’s part of the learning process and they have got to find a way of dealing with it. It was a good learning day and although we don’t like losing any game, we got a lot of positives from it.

On Nyoni’s stunning goal…

It was a fantastic goal. A really good individual goal and I thought Trey was fantastic in the game for probably an hour or so. He is a very talented young player, still with a lot to learn but he has made a good start for us. We will continue to work hard with him to keep on improving and he certainly has an eye for a goal, as we have seen with some excellent strikes so far, and long may that continue.

On Figueroa getting a call-up for the U17 World Cup with the USA…

Figgy actually leaves on Friday to travel to America to be a part of the USA U17s World Cup squad, so we will be without him for a while. Obviously we’ll have to wait and see if anybody else from the squad gets called up as well with England. It will be a great experience for Figgy. I’ve told him I’m an England fan but I will support USA when he plays as well, so hopefully he can do well and score some goals.

He actually started the season with an injury but he’s still got back to fitness at the right time for him. He’s still not as sharp as he would like to be but he’s going to be getting minutes for USA U17s and hopefully he can get some goals and come back with us even sharper.

On Saturday’s home meeting with Newcastle…

It will be a tough challenge. Things have changed up there in recent years so we’re not quite sure what we are going to face, but they will be up and at us and they have got good players and good staff, so it will be a good challenge. We always have some good games against Newcastle United and they are never easy, so we look forward to it as always.

• Watch Saturday's game live from 12.55pm BST on LFCTV and LFCTV GO here