Liverpool U18s continued their impressive start to 2011 with a convincing 3-1 victory over Bolton on Saturday afternoon.
The Reds followed on from their FA Youth Cup heroics with another performance full of attacking purpose and deservedly took the spoils courtesy of goals from Adam Morgan, Conor Coady and Toni Silva.
Jack Sampson had pulled the visitors level with a well-taken first-half volley but they could do little to deny the home side victory in what proved to be a one-sided second 45 at the Academy.
The result means Rodolfo Borrell's youngsters will head into next Saturday's mini-derby at Everton in high spirits and eager to impress as they bid to secure starting berths for their upcoming Youth Cup clash with either Southend or Derby.
The Reds made a supercharged start to the proceedings and were ahead on eight minutes when a fine move down the left flank ended with a clinical near post finish from Morgan.
The Academy die-hards that had braved the blustery conditions may have felt it was a sign of things to come for the visitors who had succumbed to a 6-0 defeat against Borrell's side on their own patch back in November.
And the Trotters could well have been two down just minutes later but Jay Lynch did well to deny Morgan after the forward had been sent scampering clear by Silva.
It looked all set to be a comfortable afternoon for Borrell's charges until Sampson latched on to a loose ball in the Reds area and dispatched a well-struck volley back across Tyrell Belford and in off the far post on 15 minutes.
It was shock to the system for the hosts and they struggled to impose their usual game on events until a sublime ball from Krisztian Adorjan sent Silva galloping in on goal. The Portuguese winger cut inside his man before teeing up Raheem Sterling to sting the fingertips of Lynch with a first time drive.
Adorjan's creativity when dropping off the frontman was causing the Bolton rearguard all sorts of problems and it was only a fine stop from Lynch that denied Silva on 38 minutes after the Hungarian had conjured up another beautifully weighted pass.
As the interval approached the Reds continued to probe but it was the away team that almost snatched the lead when Oluwasanmi Odelusz rounded Belford, only to see Stephen Sama keep out his effort with a remarkable headed clearance.
The second half brought with it heavier rainfall and both sides threatened in what had developed into a keenly contested encounter.
Liverpool continued to play the more attractive football while the away side looked dangerous at set pieces and it became evident that the next goal would be hugely significant in the outcome of the game.
Thankfully, it fell the home team's way as Coady seized upon a pass 25 yards from goal and sent a rasping first-time drive into the far corner of the net on 56 minutes.
It gave Borrell's men an instant lift and Adorjan looked to extend their advantage with a dipping 25 yard free-kick that drew another good save from Lynch.
With Bolton legs getting weary Liverpool unleashed new signing Jason Banton into the action and he showed some neat touches when he replaced Sterling late on.
By now it was all one-way traffic and Silva ensured the Reds would complete the double over Bolton when he drilled in a third from a tight angle.
Adorjan then came close to rubbing salt in their wounds in added time when his swirling free-kick crashed back off the crossbar.
No comments:
Post a Comment