FA Youth Cup Final 1st Leg - Liverpool 3 Man City 0 (Apr 13 2006)

[TLW]

LIVERPOOL U18 3 Man City U18 0

Report by Dave Usher at Anfield

Scorer(s) - Robbie Threlfall, Ryan Flynn, Miki Roque Half Time - 2-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Thu 13 Apr 2006 Star Man - Craig Lindfield

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liverpool’s youngsters have one hand on the FA Youth Cup after an impressive 3-0 victory put them in a great position going into next week’s second leg at the City of Manchester Stadium. In front of a disappointing crowd of just over 12,000, Steve Heighway’s side produced a terrific all round performance full of exciting attacking and valiant defending.

Back in 1996 when the club last won this competition, over 26,000 were at Anfield to see it. Reports in the local press suggested the club were anticipating a similar crowd for this game, but frankly it’s the club's own fault that only a third of that amount turned up. Charging £7 for a game which was being televised on Sky was a stupid decision. Not allowing season ticket holders free entry was another.

It’s sounds stupid, but I honestly don’t think the club wanted a big crowd, which is a damn shame as it would have been great for the lads to play in front of a full house at Anfield. The attendances all through the competition have been shit, even when it was only £4 a ticket. So why bump up the price for a game which people could watch on sky anyway?

The TV money would surely pay for the cost of stewarding and policing, and even if it didn’t, so what? It would have been fantastic to have a really big crowd, and these lads deserve that because they are a terrific side full of heart and big on talent. Those who were there will have come away happy as it was a superb game and great entertainment.

The young reds had seen off both of last years finalists on the road to this final, and even though their results against City haven’t been good at u18 level this season, Heighway’s youth cup side are definitely stronger than their City counterparts. They just needed to prove it, and prove it they did, especially in a first half that could easily have produced a lot more than the two goals it did.

Liverpool’s attacking play in the opening 45 minutes was top drawer. Lone striker Craig Lindfield did a great job of linking the play and bringing his midfielders into the game, and he was ably assisted by willing runners such as Anderson and Barratt. Adam Hammill played behind Lindfield, but he didn’t get off to the best of starts and never really managed to fully get into his stride all evening, although he did show some moments of real quality.

The game offered an opportunity for many people to see these lads for the first time, and no doubt Paul Anderson was the player most were looking forward to seeing. Paul is the most high profile member of the side, and it was no surprise to me when I returned home to discover Sky had named him man of the match. I thought he had a very good game, but so did a lot of his team-mates. Paul is the youth team's Steven Gerrard I guess.

I’m sure Paul will be the first to agree that over the course of this cup run, no single player has stood out more than anyone else and it’s been a real team effort. I know that’s an overused cliché, and often an inaccurate one, but in this case it’s true.

The strength of this group is that they really don’t rely on any one single player. The 1996 side was good, but take out Michael Owen and they definitely wouldn’t have won it. Owen was irreplaceable. The class of 2006 could cope with the loss of any individual and still be largely unaffected. This game highlighted that perfectly, as the goals came from somewhat unlikely sources.

Left back Robbie Threlfall opened the scoring at the second attempt from an inviting corner by Charlie Barnett. Robbie is very good at attacking set pieces, and he had been one of the heroes in the semi final as it was his extra time header which sent the game to penalties. Now he’d opened the scoring in the final. Clearly he’s a lad for the big occasion.

The young reds looked a threat from set pieces all night, as Barnett’s delivery is so good that he’s probably worth a place in the first team for that alone! Imagine, Hyypia, Crouch etc attacking those crosses!

Ryan Flynn added a second with a lovely finish at the Kop end following great play by Anderson. It came at the end of a flowing move that involved a number of players, and I would have thought at least a dozen passes. Hammill tried to pick out Anderson, but the left back cut out the pass. Anderson had anticipated this however and instead of challenging for the ball, he dropped back so he could collect the full back’s header.

Then he set off, beat a couple of players before picking out Flynn who side-footed the ball into the bottom corner. Flynn has made a huge contribution to the cup run, and this was his second goal in front of the Kop. The young Scot’s tireless running and good use of the ball has been a real feature of the team’s play.

Plenty of other chances were created in the first half, but City keeper Matthewson made a string of excellent saves. Lindfield had a header saved, and then Barratt was denied from close range following a wonderful Liverpool move. Lindfield had released Anderson down the right and his cross was perfectly into the stride of Barratt who had made a great run through the centre. He probably should have scored, but credit goes to the keeper for the save. Fantastic football though.

Matthewson made another wonderful save to keep out Anderson five minutes before the break, as Liverpool looked to win the tie in the first half. Anderson had earlier seen a spectacular volley go just wide.

City had offered very little, but had looked dangerous from corners. They improved drastically after the break however, and the second half was a much more even contest. Having shown their attacking skills in the opening 45 minutes, the second period saw the likes of Dave Roberts and Godwin Antwi come to the fore as the reds had to display their battling qualities.

Roberts saved bravely from Sturridge, and the City striker then struck a shot against the foot of the post. City must have realised it wasn’t going to be their night when a scramble in the Liverpool box saw Antwi twice clear off his line before Roberts made a stunning save to turn Sturridge’s shot wide. Those few seconds typified the will to win these lads have.

Liverpool continued to look threatening on the counter attack, as Hammill slowly began to get more involved. I think initially Adam was trying a little too hard. He’s a player who will have been relishing the chance to show his skills on such a big stage, and you could see his frustration when things weren’t going for him. He needed to get back to basics and not try to do too much, and I thought he did that more in the second half.

He was replaced by Miki Roque with 15 minutes to go, as Heighway had correctly decided that we were getting a little over-run in midfield where Barnett and Flynn had got through a tremendous amount of work. Roque is such a good footballer that he can slot in virtually anywhere, and he wasted no time getting involved. His arrival gave the side a more solid look, and City began to look less of a threat.

Anderson was denied what would have been a stunning goal when his acrobatic overhead kick smashed against the bar, but the reds did manage to get the third goal when another superb Barnett corner was headed home by Roque.

Heighway then introduced Jay Spearing for cramp victim Flynn. It was a nice moment for Jay, who has missed most of the season with a broken leg. He is very highly thought of at the Academy, which is why he was immediately brought into the youth cup squad as soon as he was fit enough.

The tie certainly isn’t over by any means, as an early goal for City next week could see anything happen. Complacency is the biggest danger, so you can be sure Heighway will be drumming into the lads that they need to stay focussed. If they can score then City will really have their work cut out to get anything.

I’d expect Hammill, Barratt and Anderson to get a lot of room on the counter attack next week, and if they play well then it’s hard to see any other outcome but another Liverpool win. Don't be surprised to see Hammill take centre stage next week.

Picking a star man from this game was really tough. I did think about taking the easy option and awarding it to the whole team. It was one of those games where I’m sure if you asked ten people who they thought was the star man, you’d get six or seven different answers.

You can make a case for most of the side, but I’m giving it to Lindfield who I thought was absolutely outstanding. The only thing missing from his performance was a goal, but that was because on the night the chances fell to others. His link up play and work rate were outstanding, and I can only remember him giving the ball away once. Craig has really blossomed in this cup run, and there was a real maturity and intelligence about his performance against City. He just shades it from Godwin.


Team: Roberts; Darby, Hobbs, Antwi, Threlfall; Anderson, Barnett, Flynn (Spearing), Barratt; Hammill (Roque), Lindfield: