On first-team responsibility two weeks earlier, Bobby Clark was readily available to begin because the Liverpool under-18s earned a 1-0 win over Port Vale within the FA Youth Cup.
Port Vale U18s 0-1 Liverpool U18s
FA Youth Cup 4th Spherical, Vale ParkJanuary 11, 2023
Objective: Laffey 19′
On a run of 4 consecutive defeats within the league, the FA Youth Cup has offered Liverpool’s U18s with a welcome reprieve, and on Wednesday they secured one other win.
After seeing off Bournemouth within the third spherical, a visit to Port Vale introduced an in depth however decisive victory for Marc Bridge-Wilkinson’s aspect.
Having been not sure which gamers he may name upon within the buildup, because the under-21s took on Paris Saint-Germain at Kirkby on the similar time, Bridge-Wilkinson was capable of begin Clark as a part of his assault.
It was an in any other case inexperienced lineup, with the 2 sides buying and selling blows early on till Michael Laffey was gifted the sport’s solely.
The decider got here on the break, with Iwan Roberts sending Laffey via, and with Port Vale captain James Plant scuffing his clearance on the road, the younger midfielder was readily available to complete.
Liverpool did themselves no favours afterwards, although, with the spectacular Luke Hewitson required on quite a lot of events with robust saves to maintain Port Vale out.
Ben Lomax got here the closest for the house aspect, however his header may solely discover the woodwork, because the younger Reds held on for victory and a spot within the final 16.
Clark, who was on the bench for the 2-1 win over Leicester at Anfield solely a fortnight earlier, performed the complete 90 minutes in a combative show.
Liverpool, then, had been capable of do what Everton and Man United weren’t, as they booked a spot within the final 16 – the hope can be that they will now take confidence into their Merseyside derby on Saturday.
Liverpool U18s: Hewitson; Davidson, Fortunate, Samuels, Scanlon; Miles, Laffey, Pilling; Danns (Younger 63′), Clark, Roberts
Subs not used: Trueman, Giblin, Gyimah, Pennington, Present, Ahmed
Subsequent match: Everton (H) – U18 Premier League – Saturday, January 14, 11am (GMT)
