Ben Doak and Harvey Blair were in fabulous form as Liverpool under-21s drew 2-2 with Brighton, the latter shaking off a broken nose to score.
Liverpool U21s 2-2 Brighton U21s
Premier League 2, AXA Training Centre
April 3, 2023
Goals: Blair 59′, Stewart 75′; Moran 48′, Peupion 86′
After their controversial defeat to Crystal Palace in the quarter-finals of the Premier League International Cup on Friday night, it was back to league duty for the U21s.
Barry Lewtas fielded a strong side, with Doak and Blair lining up either side of Max Woltman, while the likes of Bobby Clark, Owen Beck and Harvey Davies all started.
It was an attritional first half at the AXA Training Centre, with Blair’s pace and power down the left flank proving the main outlet for the young Reds.
Blair – who was wearing a protective mask as recently as last week due to a broken nose – arguably had the best chance of the opening 45 minutes, too, driving past his marker and blasting into the side-netting.
Brighton had a convincing penalty shout waved away after Lee Jonas’ tackle in the box, with the two sides going into the break at 0-0.
Just like the first team on Saturday, Liverpool saw their second half get off to the worst possible start, with Andrew Moran finishing well after a low ball across the box.
The game opened up afterwards, though, and that allowed the brilliant Doak to work his magic, with a series of dazzling runs from outside to in.
One of those allowed him to tee up the opener, twisting free of challenges and pulling it back for Blair, who positioned himself well and found the bottom corner.
Another stunning run from Doak almost led to another, but substitute Layton Stewart made no mistake soon after following great work from Beck at left-back.
Tom Hill, building up his minutes after four months out, was denied a dream goal by the offside flag, with Brighton going up the other end to seal a share of the points through Cameron Peupion soon after.
Liverpool U21s: Davies; Stephenson, Jonas, Koumetio, Beck; Corness, McConnell (Norris 54′), Clark (Hill 65′); Doak, Blair (Musialowski 65′), Woltman (Stewart 65′)
Subs not used: Olufunwa
Next match: Everton (A) – Premier League 2 – Sunday, April 16, 12pm (BST)
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