Newcastle Res 2 Liverpool Res 1 (Jan 9 2006)

[TLW]

Newcastle Utd Res 2 LIVERPOOL RES 1

Report by Peter Schulz at Kingston Park

Scorer(s) - Neil Mellor Half Time - 1-1 Venue - Kingston Park Date - Mon 9 Jan 2006 Star Man - Paul Anderson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Neil Mellor made his second start of the season for Liverpool Reserves and scored his second goal but he couldn’t prevent the Reds losing 2-1 to Newcastle at Kingston Park on Monday. The game was marred by a serious injury to midfielder David Mannix.

On a freezing cold night in the North East both managers opted for youth with Neil Mellor, 23, being by far the most senior player on show. For Liverpool, that has been a common occurrence this season, and while it is sometimes a bit disappointing to watch what is basically the equivalent of the old U19 side instead of the reserves, it is comforting to know that the side isn’t chock full of wasters on £30k a week playing down their contracts. At least these players are hungry and want to show they’re good enough.

Liverpool lined up with Mellor up on his own in front of a 5 man midfield which had Paul Anderson on the right and Danny Guthrie on the left. In the middle, David Mannix was placed in front of Jack Hobbs and Lee Peltier. The back had captain Dave Raven (right) and Antonio Barragan (left) either side of promising centre back pairing Godwin Antwi and Miki Roque. In goal was Paul Willis.

The pitch at Kingston Park was very, very poor, but nevertheless the game started pretty brightly with the reds looking to find Mellor down the channels. They succeeded as early as the 11th minute when Paul Anderson’s through ball inside the full back was treated with the utmost care by Mellor. He guided the ball low to the bottom far corner outside goalkeeper Krul’s reach. A typical Mellor goal.

After this a couple of further long range efforts from Mellor followed before Newcastle equalised through Carl Finnigan whose low shot from just inside the box found the corner of Willis’ goal.

After about 40 minutes, Neil Mellor was released by Mannix and this time he hit a fierce left foot shot which swerved and dipped just in front of the keeper, but Krul made an amazing save. The rebound fell to Paul Anderson whose effort was magnificently kept out by Krul who had got to his feet in no time. It was great counter attacking play by the reds, started by a block made by Antwi at the other end. It hit him in the balls and it would have been a great way to set up a goal, but it wasn’t to be.

The first half was very evenly contested and 1-1 was a fair reflection of the first 45 minutes though it only seemed a matter of time before the next goal would come.

An unchanged reds side made a solid start to the second half and Newcastle weren’t seeing much of the ball at this stage as the 5-man midfield seemed to be working well. There wasn’t much support for Mellor though and only a few half chances were created. David Mannix curled in a shot from the left after a great spell of possession football by the reds, but it didn’t test the keeper.

On 63 minutes Mannix was involved again, this time in a 50/50 challenge for the ball. Both players were clearly hurt and the Newcastle man went down while Mannix limped away. He then sat down, clutching his leg. He was then stretchered off and later taken to hospital. It has since been confirmed that his leg is broken and is now facing another long injury lay-off. Such a shame for the talented young midfielder who has struggled so badly with injuries throughout his career.

Besian Idrizaj took his place but with Mannix’s exit disappeared Liverpool’s chances. Shortly afterwards, Neil Mellor was substituted for Ramon Calliste.

With 15 minutes to go Carl Finnigan again threatened the reds goal, somehow firing over from point blank range after good work on the Newcastle right. Minutes later, however, came the decider. A harmless loose ball was played into the box by Newcastle and Dave Raven first appeared to try and shepherd it back to Willis.

He then changed his mind and passed it back, but by then, Willis had moved to get to the ball himself. Raven knocked the ball past his keeper and Chris Farman just had to help it over the line. Raven was left head in hands and was in fact then substituted a minute later, having picked up a knock shortly before his error.

It was tough on Liverpool who had deserved the draw at least.

The best performers for Liverpool were Neil Mellor, Paul Anderson and Miki Roque. Mellor worked hard up front and looked disappointed when he was taken off. Roque oozes class in that defence. He’s not the biggest or strongest but he’s got a great touch and him and Antwi compliment each other very well in the centre.

Star man was, however, young Paul Anderson who worked very hard all night and got involved. His pass set up the goal and he was looking to create chances every time he got the ball. It’ll be interesting to see him develop over the coming months.


Team: Willis; Raven (Smith), Roque, Antwi, Barragan; Anderson, Hobbs, Peltier, Guthrie; Mannix (Idrizaj); Mellor (Calliste):