AcademyU21s: Barry Lewtas 'pleased' by friendly win at Chorley

The Reds secured a win over the Vanarama National League North outfit thanks to goals by Calum Scanlon and Ranel Young.

It was the first outing of the summer in front of supporters for Lewtas’ charges, and he was impressed by what he saw from his players in what he believed to be a stern test.

“Yeah, 100 per cent,” he told Liverpoolfc.com of more important match minutes.

“We only conceded from a late set-piece against Tranmere, so the lads are showing a real resilience [in] that part of the game. I thought today Chorley were good. They were direct [and] they played on us. I thought we dealt with that side really well.

“We matched up, we competed and just in terms of how we kept the ball, I thought we linked the game really well in the first half but without causing enough the other way. But we got in behind a lot more in the second half and had a lot more control. Overall, we have to be pleased.”

Read on for the rest of the post-match interview with Lewtas…

On the differing age range within the team...

It’s typical 21s. It’s a complete mix. I highly doubt that’ll be the team we put out first day of the season. We’ve always been successful with the way we’ve done it in terms of the lads on loan and the lads coming up. Obviously we give the lads an opportunity at a particular time. It was a real mix but it’s good.

I think some of the older boys that have been around have been able to help some of the younger lads who have moved into the group full-time. They’re experienced, they’ve been in the league, and they’ve played games and know what the 21s is about. I have to give them massive credit. They’ve trained properly and done everything properly and I think you could see that there. It was a lovely blend of younger players and players a little bit more senior but certainly it’s something to give us a bit of a platform to start the season.

On seeing some of his players involved in the seniors’ USA pre-season tour...

I got up early and watched it. It was nice to watch. Obviously a number of them came on early [against Real Betis] or came on later in the second half. I think pre-season has always been a really good time for us. It’s a chance to get new boys with us, which freshens it up and obviously we can help some of the lads who maybe want to go on loan. But there’s always been an opportunity for the young lads and it’s great to see so many familiar faces out there. I thought they performed well and did themselves proud.

On the positive of having lots of players at his disposal...

We had a big bench as well! We’ve spoken as a staff around that. I think there’s certain parts of the season where our group might be a little bit short on numbers, or there might be a few injuries and I think people forget how many players we have out on loan. Obviously pre-season shows that now.

Sepp van den Berg last night [against Real Betis], Tyler Morton, Fabio Carvalho and obviously some of the loan lads here. When they’re all in the building there’s a lot of good footballers about but the reality is everyone has a journey that is that little bit different, so when the season starts let’s see where they all are.