With Robbie Fowler watching on, Bobby Duncan netted a last-minute winner against former side Man City as the Liverpool U18s won 1-0 at Kirkby.
Liverpool U18s 1-0 Man City U18s
U18 Premier League, Kirkby
October 6, 2018
Goals: Duncan 90′
Three days on from a frustrating draw in Naples for the U19s, Barry Lewtas‘ youngsters were back in action in the U18 Premier League on Saturday.
Mirroring the first-team fixture later in the weekend, the young Reds welcomed their City counterparts to Kirkby for an early title clash.
Liverpool went into the game in second, with their visitors fifth, and Lewtas made three changes from the side that won 4-2 at Stoke the previous weekend, bringing in Vitezslav Jaros, Jake Cain and Paul Glatzel.
He also included Duncan, who left City for Merseyside in the summer, and the striker was in the thick of a busy first half, as the hosts played some excellent football.
Glatzel arguably had the best chance of the first half for the young Reds, but was unable to swivel into space to get his shot off, while Rhys Williams produced some strong blocks at the other end.
Neither side were able to break the deadlock before half-time, but Liverpool arguably had the better of the first 45.
A well-worked corner from Leighton Clarkson saw Williams’ header eventually drop for Duncan, but the 17-year-old fired his effort well over.
Lewtas shuffled his pack early into the first half as he sent on summer signing Matteo Ritaccio for Jake Cain, and soon after a swift move saw Elijah Dixon-Bonner flash a shot wide.
Liverpool had a penalty shout waved off after Glatzel was brought down in the box, before Cole Palmer hit the side-netting for City, only to be flagged offside regardless.
The pendulum swung in the closing stages as City applied more pressure in the final third, but both Williams and Tom Clayton held firm with a series of blocks and clearances.
Williams nodded a free header wide and Ritaccio’s hopeful curler hit the crossbar late on, but true to the script, it was Duncan who powered home the winner in the last minute for his fifth league goal of the season.
TIA Man of the Match: Rhys Williams
Liverpool U18s: Jaros; Walls (Hoever 74′), R.Williams, Clayton, Larouci; Dixon-Bonner; Clarkson (Sharif 88′), Cain (Ritaccio 55′), Longstaff; Glatzel, Duncan
Subs not used: B.Williams, O’Rourke
Next match: Wolves (A) – U18 Premier League – Saturday, October 20 – 12pm (BST)
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