Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Ngog At The Double For Reds

David Ngog was at the double as Liverpool Reserves romped to a 4-0 friendly win over a strong Tranmere Rovers side at the Academy on Tuesday afternoon.

The Frenchman opened the scoring with a thumping 35th minute strike before Daniel Ayala and Emmanuel Mendy put the hosts out of sight in the second half.

Ngog then sealed the victory with a clinical drive late on as John McMahon's men maintained an unbeaten run that stretches as far back as October.

The Reds boss included Milan Jovanovic, Dani Pacheco, Brad Jones and Ngog in his starting XI as he looked to combat a Rovers team that boasted the experience of Alan Mahon and the highly-rated Dale Jennings.

First-team manager Kenny Dalglish was once again amongst the spectators for what looked like being an intriguing Merseyside derby of sorts and he almost saw Rovers take the lead on two minutes.

Mahon broke down the left and crossed for Lucas Akins who was left in acres of space eight yards from goal. It looked a simple task to control and finish but the striker somehow got the ball stuck under his feet. Sammy Morrow eventually bounced a shot wide after Liverpool had scrambled it to the edge of the area.

It was a let off for the hosts and they responded in the right manner as Michael Roberts fizzed a 25 yard blockbuster against the crossbar.

The midfielder certainly seemed to have his eye in and on 11 minutes he saw another effort shake the woodwork after a short corner was worked into his path.

Both sides seemed intent to attack at every opportunity and Rovers carved out a good opening four minutes later but Akins failed to find a teammate with his cut back after rounding Brad Jones.

Ngog then dragged an effort wide after good link up with Nikola Saric before Mahon crashed a well-struck shot just over Jones's bar.

With half an hour played there had been little sign of Jovanovic but the Serbia star almost had an assist to his name moments later when his weaving run and cross just missed the outstretched leg of Ngog.

The Frenchman's influence was beginning to grow as the match wore on and on 35 minutes he broke free to lash a left foot drive beyond Joe Collister to give Liverpool the lead.

The Reds had just about shaded the first period and McMahon opted to make changes at the interval with Gerardo Bruna and Suso replacing Saric and Alex Cooper respectively.

The duo gave the home side more composure in possession and on 55 minutes they doubled their advantage.

Pacheco forced a smart save out of Collister from 18 yards but from the resulting kick Ayala was on hand to bundle the ball home from close range.

It seemed to knock the fight out of the visitors and Pacheco again went close before Jovanovic drilled wide of the near post from a tight angle.

With the Reds in total control, McMahon introduced Andre Wisdom as a substitute and the highly-rated defender enjoyed a quiet run out on his first appearance since picking up a serious knee injury at the start of the season.

The one-way traffic continued and on 78 minutes a neat exchange between Bruna and Pacheco sent Ngog clear. It seemed inevitable the net would bulge, but the striker took one touch too many and the chance went begging.

A third goal appeared to be on the cards, however, and from a right-wing corner Mendy ghosted in at the near post to glance a header into the far corner.

The away side had done little to trouble the Reds' rearguard in the second period and although they did hit the bar late on, Ngog sealed a superb display when he rifled a rising drive inside the near post from eight yards out.

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