Liverpool U-18s vs Huddersfield Town U-18s
Just as it has been around the world for many, it has been a hectic and unpredictable preseason for the young lads at the academy. It’s as if the youth academies are all participating in a Discord where the daily “who can play today” messages are sent out and accepted forming the schedule for the day. Most recently we saw Liverpool and Huddersfield Town accept each other’s invites, however; it looks like the Huddersfield youth would have been better off pretending they were not online when that message came through.
Following a 5-0 win over Crewe, the U-18s of Liverpool hammered five goals past the young Bilokapic, courtesy of Harvey Blair’s brace, Tom Hill, Sean Wilson, and new signing, Melkamu Frauendorf. Dominating from the first whistle, the young Reds could have easily added another three or four goals to their tally with more precise finishing.
It was clear that Marc Bridge-Wilkinson’s side was eager to play, pressing high and winning balls back all over the pitch. One player specifically, Tyler Morton, put in an excellent shift. A true box-to-box midfielder, Morton seemed to be the first to win every ball and made the right pass over and over again feeding the ball into space for the likes of Blair, Hill, and James Balagizi. Look to keep your eye on Morton as his work ethic is superb and he has some of those intangibles that can’t be taught.
Harvey Blair enjoyed a brace as he finished off of a Conor Bradley cross in the first half and then tucked away a penalty in the second after being taken down in the box. Blair continuously made clever runs and found himself in space between defenders all game. He was just a couple of good saves and inaccurate finishes away from scoring five himself. He will be a big factor in the U-18s success this year.
Tom Hill notches in a man of the match performance as his work ethic, similar to Morton’s, was the engine up front that opened the door for chance after chance. Another box-to-box type of midfielder, Hill enjoyed a great campaign last year and he looks to be growing stronger and better. A player that scored at will it seemed last season, Hill looked to be kicking himself as he had several good opportunities to score but couldn’t convert. Aside from the missed opportunities, Hill was a workhorse playing ball after ball, commanding the pitch, and making every player on the field just that much better.
Similar to his newly signed counterpart, Mateusz Musialowski, German Melkamu Frauendorf netted in a late goal on his debut to make it 5-0. Both Musialowski and Frauendorf are exciting prospects that we will continuously watch and report on as the season goes on.
If you’re a fan of the youth academy, keep an eye out as a bigger report on the academy as a whole will be coming shortly as we look to preview the upcoming season. We’ll highlight players to watch and have a general overview of the young Reds.