AcademyU18s preview: 'A good start to the season but we can get better'
Marc Bridge-Wilkinson insists there is much more to come from Liverpool U18s after they hit Middlesbrough for six on the opening day of the season.
Last weekend's 6-2 win in Kirkby saw Lewis Koumas net four goals on his first start at U18 level, while summer recruit Ben Doak was also on the scoresheet.
The young Reds are back in action on Saturday, facing a trip to Thorp Arch to take on Leeds United - a game you can watch live on LFCTV and LFCTV GO, with kick-off set for 12pm BST.
Read the full interview below as Bridge-Wilkinson gives Liverpoolfc.com his latest thoughts...
On the win over Middlesbrough…
It was a nice way to start - loads and loads of positives. Some of our attacking play and some of the goals we scored were fantastic. There’s still lots to work on and we can be better, because it was disappointing to concede the two goals we did and the amount of chances that they had as well. As much as we are pleased with the attacking side of our play, we’ve got a lot of work still to do.
Highlights: Liverpool U18s 6-2 Middlesbrough
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On fielding a young team that included seven 16-year-olds…
It was a young team, especially for the first game of the season. There wasn’t too much experience in there. Our goalkeeper Fabian Mrozek helps with that a lot, we’ve got Macca [James McConnell], Tez [Terence Miles] and Niall [Osborne] to help them as well. So, it’s a young team but it’s a good team and one that we’ll continue to look forward to working with.
On Koumas netting four on his first start for the U18s in a new striker role...
Lewis is a good player, as you’ve seen. He's got lots of legs, lots of energy, his movement and his ability to run forward, especially without the ball, is really, really good. It was an area of the pitch that we thought at the end of last season about using him in. Since we've come back in pre-season, we've had to move him around a little bit to get through the games but he certainly looked the part [against Middlesbrough].
On an eye-catching display from new addition Doak…
He can be very pleased with what he did out there. We know the type of player he is and the quality that he has got. He will get better because we know that he needs to get fitter and he will be able to have even more impact in the games. He has definitely got quality and is definitely someone we want to see out there for us on the pitch.
On the trip to take on Leeds United…
It will be another good test for the boys. We had two very different games against Leeds last season. We are looking forward to it, so we will see how we go.
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