Sunday, October 05, 2008

U18s Rally To Claim Fifth Straight Win

Liverpool under-18s fought back from two goals down to snatch a deserved 4-2 victory in a pulsating clash with Wolves at the Academy.

The Reds had gone into the match hoping to extend their winning streak to five matches but that looked like being an almost impossible target when the visitors raced into a 2-0 lead after just 16 minutes.

However, Hughie McAuley's men rallied and they were level by the half hour mark courtesy of goals from Lauri Dalla Valle and Astrit Ajdarevic.

The Reds then looked the more likely side to win it throughout a tense second period and they eventually got the goal they deserved seven minutes from time courtesy of substitute James Ellison's wonderful 25 yard drive.

Marvin Pourie then rubbed salt in the away side's wounds with a stoppage time fourth.

It was a devastating blow for Wolves who made a bright start to the proceedings and could have taken the lead as early as the first minute when James Davis fired a warning shot from 20 yards just over Martin Hansen's crossbar.

It served as a taster for what was to follow for much of the first-half as the Reds struggled to come to terms with the away side's counter-attacking style.

The home side were lacking their usual rhythm and they had barely had time to settle into the contest when they found themselves behind after just four minutes.

Wolves were awarded a corner on the right hand side and when the Liverpool defence failed to pick up Jamie Reckford on the edge of the penalty area, the defender duly punished them by nodding the ball into the six yard box for Michael Wardle to drill the ball through Hansen's legs.

It was a shock to the system for the hosts who had gone into the clash in buoyant mood on the back of series of impressive performances. But in the early stages they were always second best and it came as no surprise when the away side doubled their advantage on 16 minutes when Sam Winnall smashed a superb 25 yarder beyond the despairing dive of Hansen.

At this point it looked like the visitors would run away with it and had Kyle Bennett steered his effort two inches lower he would have been celebrating their third on 22 minutes.

However, the winger was instead left to curse a miss of the season contender after Hansen's inability to deal with a corner from the right saw him crash the ball off the crossbar from all of two yards.

It was the let off that seemed to spark Liverpool into life and two minutes later they were back in it courtesy of another Lauri Dalla Valle strike.

The 17-year-old signed pro forms with the club last week and marked the occasion in style with another fine finish from just inside the area.

It was a goal that changed the entire complexion of the game and the hosts inevitably poured forward before drawing level on the half hour mark.

A Wolves corner was flicked into the path of Tom Ince, who quickly found Dalla Valle on the left as Liverpool looked to play the visitors at their own game with a swift counter-attack.

The Finnish striker moved purposefully towards goal before cutting inside and teeing up Astrit Ajdarevic who thundered home a trademark effort to cap a remarkable six minute turnaround and send Liverpool in level at the break.

Both sides made an attempt to tighten up at the back following the interval and it wasn't until the 55th minute that the first real chance of any note fell Liverpool's way, but David Amoo's powerful cross-shot flew inches wide of the far post.

Substitute James Ellison then had a deflected header tipped over the bar by Richard Woolley, before finally getting the better of the Wolves stopper with a sensational strike that flew into the top corner on 83 minutes.

Wolves tried to respond but in doing so left space at the back and Pourie pounced in injury-time to make sure of the three points.

Liverpool under 18s: Hansen, Scott, Buchtmann, Metcalf, Kennedy, Ajdarevic, Amoo, Roberts (O'Connor 79), Dalla Valle, Pourie, Ince (Ellison 65). Unused subs: Duyan.

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