Liverpool U21s 4-1 Wolves U21s 

Liverpool U21s 4-1 Wolves U21s – Kirkby Academy, Saturday 2^nd November (Premier League 2)

Liverpool XI: Misciur, Nallo (76), Mabaya (45), Jonas, Norris, Corness, Pilling (69), Nyoni, Hill, Morrison, Young (76)

Subs: Trueman, Davidson (45), Pinnington (76), Kone-Doherty (69), Figueroa (76)

Wolves XI: Benjamin, Okoduwa, Voice, Mabete, Ojinnaka, Sutherland (71), Ashworth, Griffiths (45), Whittingham, Angel (71), Farmer (71)

Subs: Igbinoghene (71), Bradbury (71), Lopes (71), Reynolds, Holman (45)

Both teams came into this PL2 game having played PL international cup football midweek. Wolves had a thrilling 3-3 draw with Dinamo Zagreb while Liverpool were beaten 4-3 in their own high-octane encounter with Hertha BSC. Liverpool’s last PL2 game was a 2-0 defeat in a Merseyside derby.

Wolves gained the lead after 20 minutes. Harvey Griffiths is still on the recovery trail after a substitute appearance midweek. The former Manchester City midfielder started on Saturday and cooly converted a spot kick to put his side ahead. Much like their first-team counterparts, their lead wouldn’t last long. Trey Nyoni made his senior debut for Liverpool on Wednesday and his potential was on full display as he scored the leveller 5 minutes after Griffiths’ penalty. The assist came from Dominic Corness who spent last season on loan with Yverdon Sport in Switzerland, playing alongside former Wolves youngster Christian Marques. Northern Irish U19 international Kieran Morrison played a huge part in the Liverpool comeback with three assists. Ranel Young was another involved for Liverpool’s senior side on Wednesday, named among the substitutes in their Carabao Cup clash with Brighton. The striker netted his first goal of the game just after the half-hour mark. 22-year-old Thomas Hill scored the third for the hosts just four minutes later. All three of Liverpool’s first-half goals came within 15 minutes of Wolves’ opener. 

Both sides made half-time changes with Griffiths making way for Fletcher Holman while Isaac Mabaya was replaced by Josh Davidson. Morrison completed his assist hat-trick while Renel Young got himself a brace just eight minutes from the restart. Caden Voice would put the ball in the net with 20 minutes to go, but he had his goal ruled out due to offside. No late heroics this time as Wolves fell to a heavy defeat on the road. The last time Wolves conceded four goals was away to Derby County U21s on Monday 30^th September and James Collins’ side have now shipped 12 goals in their last 5 games in all competitions.

Wolves will have some work to do before they return to the north on Wednesday to face Oldham Athletic in the National League Cup. Not a lot of positives to take from today’s game and it will be interesting to see how the lads can pick themselves up from a very poor defeat. Pond was unavailable on first-team duty but it was still a solid backline. The U21s have a real issue with the number of goals being conceded but there are some talented players at the back who can hopefully fix the problem. Tickets for Wolves’ first ever National League cup clash are available now at Oldham’s website.