Goal, assist, Man of the Match duo and ‘best save yet?’ – Liverpool Loan Watch

August 8, 2022
Jack Lusby

It was a very positive weekend for Liverpool’s loanees, with goals, assists, two Man of the Match awards and a save heralded as one youngster’s best yet.

The Reds have so far sanctioned 12 loan deals in the summer transfer window, with players departing for leagues across England, Scotland, Wales, Spain, Austria and Poland.

For many, the action kicked off at the end of July, with follow-up fixtures coming in the weekend just gone.

It brought many positives for the Liverpool youngsters gaining first-team experience, including Leighton Clarkson, who scored his first goal for Aberdeen just hours after completing his move.

The 21-year-old was not in line for as much game time as he was afforded in a home clash with St Mirren, but injury to Hayden Coulson saw him thrust into action after 12 minutes.

By half-time, Clarkson had struck a wonderful right-footed drive into the top corner on the way to a 4-1 victory that saw him earn the Man of the Match award.

“I haven’t trained with any of the lads and only met most of them in the morning at the pre-match meal,” the midfielder revealed after the game.

Not a bad start, all things considered.

Elsewhere, there was a second assist in as many League One games for Conor Bradley at Bolton, as his driving run into the box from the right flank allowed him to lay it off to Kyle Dempsey for the opener in a 3-0 victory over Wycombe.

Back in the Championship, Rhys Williams was unable to build upon his debut clean sheet with Blackpool as they sunk to a 2-0 defeat at Stoke.

Stoke’s second of the afternoon was a blemish on Williams’ performance, as he allowed Jacob Brown to ghost in front of him and convert from a low cross at the near post.

Lower down the leagues, there was a man-of-the-match performance from James Balagizi in Crawley’s 1-0 defeat at home to Leyton Orient.

Match sponsors @WexcoGSSA have voted for @jamesbalagizi as their player of the match.

Well done, James!

? 0-1 ?

90' | #TownTeamTogether ?

— Crawley Town FC (@crawleytown) August 6, 2022

And Marcelo Pitaluga kept a clean sheet in another promising display on his competitive senior debut with Macclesfield, as they beat Wythenshawe Town 2-0 in the extra preliminary round of the FA Cup.

Macclesfield were holding a 1-0 lead heading towards the 90th minute, but a series of bizarre disruptions led to a lengthy period of stoppage time.

After drinks breaks, talks between the manager and officials, Wythenshawe going down to 10 men after fielding an ineligible substitute, then nine following a red card, and unwelcome scenes in the stands, 13 minutes were added on.

Fortunately, Pitaluga was on hand to produce heroics as Macclesfield held on and eventually got the goal to seal a 2-0 win, with one save lauded as his best yet:

? 90+5’ | Unbelievable save from Marcelo Pitaluga to deny Hewitt an equaliser, arguably his best yet in a Macclesfield shirt!

Wythenshawe Town 0 v 1 Silkmen

— Macclesfield FC (@thesilkmen) August 6, 2022

Finally, Tyler Morton made a very brief debut for Blackburn, coming off the bench for the closing stages of a 3-0 win over Swansea, while Adam Lewis was an 83rd-minute substitute in Newport’s 1-0 loss to Walsall.

Owen Beck went unused in Famalicao’s 2-0 loss to Estoril Praia on the opening weekend of the Primeira Liga.