Liverpool Res 1 Sheff Utd Res 0 - Jan 10 2007

[TLW]

LIVERPOOL RES 1 Sheff Utd Res 0

Report by Dave Usher at the Racecourse Ground

Scorer(s) Craig Lindfield Half Time – 1-0 Venue – Racecourse Ground, Wrexham Date - Wed 10 Jan 2007 Star Man – Craig Lindfield

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Craig Lindfield’s stunning first half strike secured the points for a young Liverpool reserve side, as Sheffield United were beaten 1-0 at the Racecourse Ground in the Barclays FA Premier Reserve League North last night. Liverpool included nine players from last season’s FA Youth Cup winning squad, with keeper Dave Martin and striker Nabil El Zhar the only two players who didn’t feature.

Jay Spearing made his reserve team debut in the centre of midfield in place of reserve team skipper Danny Guthrie who along with Lee Peltier had played for the first time the night before. In Peltier’s absence, last year’s youth cup winning captain Stephen Darby was handed a rare start at right back. Otherwise it was more or less the usual team.

This game was typical of how the season has gone so far. The reds were in control and had most of the play, but the opposing keeper wasn’t tested as much as Gary Ablett would have liked. As usual, the side were pretty solid at the back, but when you aren’t scoring goals there’s always the risk of letting one in. That’s happened so many times this season, but thankfully on this occasion the lads kept a clean sheet, and managed to find the net at the other end to claim only their second win of the season.

The visitors had the first clear chance of the game, when midfielder Travis found space at the far post but saw his shot superbly turned over the bar by Dave Martin. Lard arse striker Neil Shipperly then should have done better with a header from a left wing free kick, and centre half Robertson also had a headed opportunity following a cross from the right side, but he put the ball over the bar.

For the reds, Threlfall saw a fine 25 yard drive saved at full stretch by the United keeper, and Idrizaj felt he should have been awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box after he burst through the centre and looked to have been obstructed by the last defender. The referee was having none of it though.

El Zhar and Hammill had both looked lively in the first half, and it was the Morroccan who created the goal for his strike partner Lindfield five minutes before time. The little forward controlled a ball on his chest neatly and turned away from the full back before knocking a ball down the left touchline for Lindfield to chase.

The defence had been caught square, which allowed Lindfield to carry the ball into the left side of the box. He was faced with a defender and had no support in the centre, but he showed good footwork to cut inside and bend a perfect shot into the top corner of the net. It was a fantastic goal, and a thoroughly deserved one as Lindfield, like El Zhar, showed an incredible work rate and never allowed their defenders any time on the ball.

Ablett will surely have been delighted by the work rate shown by the front two, as well as both wingers, who chased everything all night and regularly charged down clearances. With Spearing doing the same in the centre of the park, the reds defence only had to concern themselves with set pieces and deep crosses, as the Blades had no chance of playing their way through.

The 2nd half followed a similar pattern to the first. The visitors had the first attempt of the half when Shipperly saw his header well tipped over the bar by the excellent Dave Martin. The keeper did everything asked of him, and looked very assured in everything he did. His dad Alvin was sat behind me in the stand, and he will surely have been pleased with what he saw from his lad.

Liverpool were causing United a lot of problems, but the final ball or shot just wasn’t there. Hammill was excellent, and El Zhar’s control and strong running also worried the visitors, but clear cut chances were few and far between. Hammill brought a save from the keeper with a low 18 yard shot, and Lindfield fizzed a stinging left foot shot inches over the bar.

The best chance fell to Miki Roque however. Hammill’s deep free kick found an unmarked Idrizaj who nodded the ball back to Roque a few yards out. I don’t know what exactly happened, the Spanish youngster seemed certain to score but took an eternity to put the ball in the net and a defender nipped into clear the danger.

The Blades forced a few late set pieces, but Roque seemed to get his head on most of them, and if he didn’t then Antwi did. Both centre backs were superb, as were the full backs. With Jack Hobbs still to come back from a broken foot, the reserves are spoilt for choice at centre half, which makes it surprising that they’ve brought in a young Paraguayan centre half. He has been training with the squad and was watching this game from the bench. Presumably the club are waiting for international clearance before he can play, but he’s going to have a job forcing his way into the side.

Star man for me could have been virtually anyone. Everyone made a good contribution, with Idrizaj the only one who I was a bit disappointed in. He looks like he should really be a player, he’s got great physique, two good feet, pace, and he has the swagger that good players seem to have. He doesn’t match the sum of his parts though, and he can be far too casual at times. He didn’t have a bad game, and he worked hard, but you can see that he is underachieving.

I’m going to go for Lindfield as the star man, simply because he never stopped working and it was his piece of individual brilliance that was the difference between three points and one. Special mention to Jay Spearing who slotted in as though he’d been playing for the reserves for years. He will surely be moved to Melwood soon, but in the meantime he has the small matter of leading out the youth team to face Chelsea at Anfield this Saturday to concentrate on.


Team: Martin; Darby, Roque, Antwi, Threlfall; Anderson, Spearing, Idrizaj, Hammill: Lindfield, El Zhar: