Liverpool under-18s coach Hughie McAuley praised his side’s character after they battled back to earn a point at home to Manchester City.
The Reds fell behind after just three minutes against the Premier Academy League leaders but levelled before the break courtesy of Lauri Dalla Valle’s goal.
Dalla Valle and Nathan Eccleston both had chances to win it in the second half, while at the other end the Reds were indebted to a couple of fine stops from goalkeeper Martin Hansen.
McAuley said: “We started slowly and paid the price when we conceded a bad goal. We had a free-kick on the edge of their area but they broke away and scored.
“We let them have too much possession early on and struggled to get control.
“We changed things around and pushed Nathan Eccleston further forward alongside Lauri. That helped us to get back in the game and after that we were more of a threat.
“We had some decent chances in the second half but we couldn’t put them away and to be fair our keeper also had to make some good saves.
“It could have gone either way and in the end a draw was probably a fair result.
“They beat us 4-1 earlier in the season but this time we were much better and the lads gave a good account of themselves.
“It’s the start of a big run of games for us as this Saturday it’s Everton away and then the FA Youth Cup tie with Chelsea the following Thursday.”
The Reds had to play the final 10 minutes with 10 men after striker Eccleston was sent off after picking up a second yellow card.
“Nathan is always full of endeavour and I think the two challenges looked a lot worse than they were,” McAuley added.
“There was nothing malicious in either of them but in this day and age they were both bookable offences and I had no complaints.”
There was a recall to the Academy side for Swedish midfielder Astrit Ajdarevic, who returned to the club after a trial at Blackburn Rovers.
The 18-year-old has been told he won’t be offered a deal when his current contract expires this summer and is still looking for a new club.
McAuley said: “Astrit needed a game, but he’s going to find his opportunities limited here as we’ve got young lads like Michael Roberts and Alex Cooper in that position. They need games.
“The change of manager at Blackburn ended his opportunities there so he still needs to get himself sorted out. He’s probably going to be moving on before too long.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool reserves boss Gary Ablett is backing Spaniard Francisco Duran to bounce back from his latest injury setback.
The 20-year-old midfielder has been ruled out for six months with a cruciate ligament injury he suffered in training.
Duran has already had two separate spells on the sidelines with damage to his right knee since he signed from Malaga in January 2007.
Ablett said: “We’ve had some really bad news with Francisco damaging his cruciate, this time on his left knee.
“It was something really innocuous in training and as soon as he went down we saw the pain in his face and we feared the worst. He has had an operation and will be out for six months at least.
“Mentally, the boy is as strong a kid as you will ever meet in terms of what he’s been through, and we are all doing our best to keep the lad going.
“Fran is probably as technically a gifted a player as we have in the reserve squad and it’s unfortunate he’s had these injuries.”
The Reds fell behind after just three minutes against the Premier Academy League leaders but levelled before the break courtesy of Lauri Dalla Valle’s goal.
Dalla Valle and Nathan Eccleston both had chances to win it in the second half, while at the other end the Reds were indebted to a couple of fine stops from goalkeeper Martin Hansen.
McAuley said: “We started slowly and paid the price when we conceded a bad goal. We had a free-kick on the edge of their area but they broke away and scored.
“We let them have too much possession early on and struggled to get control.
“We changed things around and pushed Nathan Eccleston further forward alongside Lauri. That helped us to get back in the game and after that we were more of a threat.
“We had some decent chances in the second half but we couldn’t put them away and to be fair our keeper also had to make some good saves.
“It could have gone either way and in the end a draw was probably a fair result.
“They beat us 4-1 earlier in the season but this time we were much better and the lads gave a good account of themselves.
“It’s the start of a big run of games for us as this Saturday it’s Everton away and then the FA Youth Cup tie with Chelsea the following Thursday.”
The Reds had to play the final 10 minutes with 10 men after striker Eccleston was sent off after picking up a second yellow card.
“Nathan is always full of endeavour and I think the two challenges looked a lot worse than they were,” McAuley added.
“There was nothing malicious in either of them but in this day and age they were both bookable offences and I had no complaints.”
There was a recall to the Academy side for Swedish midfielder Astrit Ajdarevic, who returned to the club after a trial at Blackburn Rovers.
The 18-year-old has been told he won’t be offered a deal when his current contract expires this summer and is still looking for a new club.
McAuley said: “Astrit needed a game, but he’s going to find his opportunities limited here as we’ve got young lads like Michael Roberts and Alex Cooper in that position. They need games.
“The change of manager at Blackburn ended his opportunities there so he still needs to get himself sorted out. He’s probably going to be moving on before too long.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool reserves boss Gary Ablett is backing Spaniard Francisco Duran to bounce back from his latest injury setback.
The 20-year-old midfielder has been ruled out for six months with a cruciate ligament injury he suffered in training.
Duran has already had two separate spells on the sidelines with damage to his right knee since he signed from Malaga in January 2007.
Ablett said: “We’ve had some really bad news with Francisco damaging his cruciate, this time on his left knee.
“It was something really innocuous in training and as soon as he went down we saw the pain in his face and we feared the worst. He has had an operation and will be out for six months at least.
“Mentally, the boy is as strong a kid as you will ever meet in terms of what he’s been through, and we are all doing our best to keep the lad going.
“Fran is probably as technically a gifted a player as we have in the reserve squad and it’s unfortunate he’s had these injuries.”
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