AcademyU18s match report: Liverpool suffer defeat at Leeds United

Marc Bridge-Wilkinson’s side suffered a first defeat of the new season as the home team scored twice in each half at Thorp Arch, rendering Jayden Danns’ late penalty mere consolation.

The hosts took the lead just shy of the half-hour mark in the U18 Premier League North contest, as Lleyton Brown capitalised on a Harvey Vincent assist to beat Nathan Morana in the Reds goal.

And the latter went from provider to scorer when he doubled that advantage for Leeds 10 minutes later, while Liverpool also had to withdraw defender Wellity Lucky as an injury precaution.

The Reds sought to find a way back into the encounter after the interval but a double from substitute Joshua McDonald in the final quarter put the game beyond them.

McDonald’s brace sandwiched a dismissal for the home team, with Max McFadden receiving a pair of quickfire yellow cards in minutes 74 and 75.

Liverpool added to the scoresheet in the closing moments as Danns followed up his two goals on the opening weekend by converting a penalty, though all three points went to Leeds.

“A tough day,” Bridge-Wilkinson told Liverpoolfc.com post-match. “I thought they deserved to win, they were better than us on the day. Too many of our players had days where they couldn’t get on top of the opponents. It was a tough day at the office.”

TEAM

Liverpool U18s: Morana, Davidson, Gyimah, Pinnington, Lucky (Furnell-Gill, 45), Trueman (Laffey, 69), Pennington (Morrison, 57), Ahmed, Koumas, Onanuga, Danns.

Unused subs: Misciur, Pitt.

NEXT UP

The U18s will aim to bounce back when they return to action by hosting Derby County at the Kirkby Academy next weekend.

The 12.30pm BST kick-off on Saturday August 26 will be shown live on LFCTV GO.