YOUTHFUL REDS LOSE TO MAGPIES

Report by Luke Woodend

A young Liverpool second string lost 1-0 on Tyneside this evening in the opening game of the FA Barclaycard Reserve League North campaign.

Still reeling from their abrupt exit from the Champions League last night, the hosts fielded a number of fringe first team players including Congo International Lomana Lua Lua and England under 21 midfielder Darren Ambrose. Hughie McAuley’s Liverpool, captained by Djimi Traore, opted for youth but still had much of the better play in the early exchanges.

Liverpool could have made a dream start when two minutes in Robbie Foy threaded the ball through to Florent Sinama-Pongolle only for Newcastle keeper Tony Caig to smother the young striker’s effort.

A good opportunity came on 11 minutes when Newcastle centre-half Steven Taylor pulled down the threatening Sinama-Pongolle on the edge of the area. John Welsh failed to capitalise however, the former captain of the England schoolboys team seeing his low struck free kick go well wide.

A series of chances then followed, with Darren Potter linking up well with the forwards to cause problems for Newcastle’s defence but Foy and Sinama-Pongolle failed to find the breakthrough. Unfortunately the service to the front two would not continue and Liverpool would be made to rue the missed opportunities.

Towards the end of the half the pendulum swung firmly in the home side’s favour and while Traore and David Raven largely got the better of Lua Lua and Michael Chopra, few chances were being created on the counter-attack. Newcastle should have been ahead twice before the break but Raven first brilliantly cut out a Lua Lua cross in front of goal and then the Liverpool defence could only watch as Taylor skied the ball over from close range.

Newcastle scored the only goal early in the second half when a long ball from Stephen Caldwell found Chopra who rounded Raven to fire home. By this stage Newcastle had all the possession and play and even a torrential downpour could not change the game. The introduction of Stephen Gillespie went someway toward redressing the balance of play but even with Traore’s aerial power shifted forward Liverpool did not look like troubling the opposition goal. Indeed it was Paul Harrison in the Liverpool nets who had the busiest time, not least when he made a superb save from a rasping Ambrose free kick.

Overall, the young side acquitted themselves well against a strong Newcastle team. The vastly more experienced opposition were always likely to be a step ahead though and the Liverpool defence did well to keep it to 1-0.

TEAM:

Paul Harrison
John Ostemobor
Stephen Vaughan
David Raven
Djimi Traore (Captain)
Michael Foley-Sheridan
Darren Potter
John Welsh
Florent Sinama-Pongolle
Robbie Foy
Mark Smyth (Stephen Gillespie, 60)

Subs not used:
Ryan Wilkie
Paul Willis
Zak Whitbread
Jason Massie
Mark Jones

Man of the Match:

David Raven.
Did well against the highly rated Chopra and was unlucky not to stop him finding a way through.