Liverpool forward scores in 6-0 rout but Ben Woodburn subbed early

December 6, 2021
Jack Lusby

The two weekend headline-grabbers among Liverpool’s loanees were both from north of the border, with Luis Longstaff and Ben Woodburn seeing contrasting fortunes.

For 20-year-old forward Longstaff, it came with a second goal for Queen’s Park, while Woodburn suffered the indignity of being substituted after just 29 minutes.

After two consecutive starts for Scottish second-tier side Queen’s Park last month, Longstaff was back on the bench for the follow-up clash with Falkirk on Saturday.

The Glasgow side were already 4-0 up when their Liverpool youngster was introduced in the 74th minute, with Charlie Fox adding a fifth shortly after.

Longstaff completed the scoring just 10 minutes after coming on, and it was a goal of his own invention as he pressed well and caught teenager Mackenzie Lemon in possession, allowing him through to sidefoot into the bottom corner for a 6-0 victory.

It was his second goal in 13 games for Queen’s Park, having also found the back of the net as a substitute against Dumbarton in October.

On Sunday, however, Longstaff’s under-23s team-mate Woodburn endured a much different afternoon as he started but found himself hauled off before the half-hour mark as Hearts fought for a 1-0 win at Livingston.

Fellow Liverpool loanee Adam Lewis was still sidelined for Livingston, but Woodburn made his 11th start for Hearts, only to see his day end early.

There was no injury, nor any concern over a red card, with manager Robbie Neilson telling the Scotsman that “you can’t wait until half-time – sometimes you just need to do it.”

Woodburn had been sloppy in possession as Livingston troubled the Hearts defence early on, and with his withdrawal prompting a change in formation, the visitors eventually sealed the three points through Liam Boyce.

Elsewhere, a 1-0 win for Blackburn over Preston saw both Leighton Clarkson and Sepp van den Berg miss out, with Rovers midfielder Clarkson simply unused and North End defender Van den Berg absent due to injury.

Rhys Williams made his second consecutive start for Swansea, but it again came in tough circumstances as he was brought off after 67 minutes in a 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough.

There was more joy for Ben Davies, though, as he played the full 90 minutes in Sheffield United‘s 3-2 win over Cardiff, but the final Championship loanee, Sheyi Ojo, was unused in Millwall’s 3-1 victory against Birmingham.

Paul Glatzel played 71 minutes up front as Tranmere suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat to Leyton Orient, while Jakub Ojrzynski and Anderson Arroyo were also on the losing side for Caernarfon Town and Mirandes.