There was disappointment for Liverpool U18s on Saturday afternoon after a battling performance away to Crystal Palace finished in a 5-3 defeat.
Steve Cooper's side seized the lead after just a minute of play when Kristoffer Peterson towered above the Palace defence to nod home a well-worked corner.
However, the opposition pegged them back to 1-1 within minutes, and then took the lead courtesy of a dubious penalty. And with 10 minutes remaining before half-time, Palace established a 3-1 advantage.
After the interval Liverpool battled back. Lloyd Jones was denied by the crossbar as Sam Gainford went close to halving the deficit.
Then, after an intricate move, Daniel Trickett-Smith provided a clinical finish from inside the six-yard box to make it 3-2.
The Reds pushed for an equaliser; however, Palace exposed them on the counter to seemingly put the game beyond doubt at 4-2 with just 10 minutes left on the clock.
Refusing to give in, Cooper's side applied the pressure and when Jordan Lussey slotted a penalty to make it 4-3, hope was restored.
However, with seconds remaining, Palace secured the win thanks to a Sullay Kai-Kai lob.
Cooper reflected on the 5-3 loss: "Although I was disappointed in terms of our defending, I was pleased with our overall attitude today.
"The lads never gave up the fight and we've just got to keep building now, like we have been in recent weeks."
