A trophy, a final and a 6th assist in 9 – Liverpool FC Loan Watch

May 22, 2023
Adam Beattie

While the season is finished for many, there has still been plenty to cheer about for some of Liverpool’s loanees.

Sunday saw Fidel O’Rourke pick up silverware as his Halifax side defeated Gateshead 1-0 in the FA Trophy final at Wembley.

O’Rourke was an unused substitute in the showpiece as Halifax lifted the trophy for a second time, with the 21-year-old having joined the club on loan in February after an impressive spell with Caernarfon Town.

The forward chalked up seven goals in 10 appearances in the Cymru Premier but has since struggled for minutes since arriving at The Shay Stadium.

Leighton Clarkson registered his sixth assist in nine games from a corner to put his Aberdeen side a goal up at Hearts, but two goals either side of half-time for the hosts, unfortunately, saw the game end in defeat for the midfielder.

The 21-year-old is in a rich vein of creative form, having picked up the club’s Young Player of the Year award earlier this month.

It provides a blow to Aberdeen’s hopes of ending the campaign in third spot as they look to secure European football next season.

Elsewhere, Vitezslav Jaros‘ Stockport reached the League Two playoff final with a 3-1 aggregate win over Salford in the semi-final.

Like O’Rourke, the goalkeeper is unlikely to feature at Wembley having not made a league appearance since October, which also came in a victory over Salford.

Luke Chambers appeared in Kilmarnock’s 1-0 defeat to St. Johnstone after his side went down to 10 men and Sepp van den Berg got a full 90 minutes as Schalke drew 2-2 with Frankfurt.

Conor Bradley‘s spell at Bolton ended in heartbreak after his side fell to a 2-1 aggregate defeat to Barnsley in the League One playoff semi-final.

Anderson Arroyo came on after 70 minutes of Alaves’ 2-1 win over Malaga.