Heavy defeat for Under-23s at Liverpool

Our Under-23s endured a torrid time as we suffered a heavy defeat at Liverpool in the Premier League 2 on Saturday lunchtime.

Struggling to get out of our own half for much of the first period, the hosts took full advantage to rack up five unanswered goals, including two penalties, to effectively end the game by half-time. We did have a bright spell at the start of the second period, J'Neil Bennett pulling one back on 54 minutes, but a controversial sixth goal for the hosts finished off by Jack Bearne with a quarter of the match still to go ended any momentum we were building and substitute Fidel O'Rourke rounded off a chastening afternoon for us by making it 7-1 in the last couple of moments.

With a number of regular starters at this level unavailable and the experienced Jamie Bowden only fit enough for a place on the bench after injury, we ran out at Liverpool's Academy facility with an unfamiliar line-up including two Under-18s players in defender Charlie Sayers and striker Jamie Donley, the latter making his Under-23s debut.

A sloppy start was an early indicator of what was to come as Liverpool pressed high, preventing us from getting out of our defensive third and forcing a series of misjudgements at the back, with goalkeeper Josh Oluwayemi seeing plenty of the ball at the edge of his area as he attempted to pick out his team-mates. He saved well from Conor Bradley but you sensed a Liverpool breakthrough was only a matter of time and it was Bradley who got it, rolling home from Max Woltman's pass on 16 minutes. Woltman himself made it 2-0 on 25 minutes after wriggling away from a cluster of defenders in the box to convert from the left angle before James Norris added a third from a similar position within two minutes after shrugging off Sayers and firing past Oluwayemi.

Bennett's dangerous cross was just missed by the arriving Romaine Mundle at the far post as we finally made our way forward and had a good chance on the half-hour mark but it was 4-0 on 34 minutes when Oluwayemi was deemed to have brought down Bearne after his initial good save from Mateusz Musialowski and Leighton Clarkson sent him the wrong way from the spot. A nightmare first half ended with Clarkson scoring a second penalty four minutes into stoppage time, controversially awarded after referee Paul Mardsen spotted a handball in the box as we defended a cross on the second phase following a corner, leading to vehement protestations that spilled over into the half-time break.

Bowden's arrival at the interval gave us an element of stability and allowed us to play forward more, Donley's header from his corner well held by Marcelo Pitaluga in Liverpool's goal, but we still looked vulnerable at times and Bearne missed the target from close range after Oluwayemi parried a cross into his path.

Bennett cut in from the right flank and picked out the far corner with a fine strike from the edge of the box to make it 5-1 nine minutes after the restart with Donley subsequently played through one-on-one with Pitaluga, only for the goalkeeper to block his deft shot. But our brave efforts to make inroads into the scoreline were dampened by Bearne running free in the inside right channel to score on 66 minutes, despite centre-back Maksim Paskotsi appearing to have been fouled on the half-way line in the build-up, again leading to a feeling of frustration among our number.

Nevertheless, we kept our spirits up and continued to try to get at the hosts, Bennett's deflected shot claimed by Pitaluga, but more lapses at the back cost us further in the closing stages. Clarkson found acres of space to set himself up for a shot but was denied his hat-trick by Oluwayemi before Sayers' determination saw him cut out a dangerous through ball on the stretch, only for it to fall kindly for O'Rourke, who compounded our misery by drilling home the Reds' seventh on 88 minutes.

Match data

Goals: Liverpool - Bradley 16, Woltman 25, Norris 27, Clarkson 34 (pen), 45+4 (pen), Bearne 66, O'Rourke 88; Spurs - Bennett 54.

Yellow cards: Liverpool - Norris 41, Bradley 70, Williams 74; Spurs - Bennett 43, Sayers 58, Cesay 61.

Referee: Paul Marsden.

Venue: Liverpool Academy.

Weather: Sunny, moderate breeze, 11 degrees.