U21s to face Sligo Rovers in Ireland friendly clash
Liverpool U21s are in the Emerald Isle to take on Sligo Rovers in a prestigious friendly encounter at the Showgrounds Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Kick-off is at 7pm GMT and admission is just €10 euros for adults and €5 for children for what is sure to be an entertaining clash.
Liverpool and Ireland have always traditionally had a strong link and U21s boss Michael Beale says he is thoroughly looking forward to the occasion.
He said: “We don’t get the opportunity to play against full men’s teams much so this is really good for us. Firstly the Sligo Rovers team will be very committed and they are in the early stage of their season so it will be really good to play them.
"Also, the welcome we always get in Ireland. We were over in Ireland in the summer for our pre-season and the welcome was fantastic, it’s always nice to come over.
“It will be a good experience for our players to travel and play in a different environment. It is good to play against teams with different styles. We will playing against a team that is highly motivated and that is important.
"The game also shows the Liverpool family that is out there. I understand there is a Liverpool Supporters Branch in Sligo which shows the value of coming over. It can be an eye-opener for some of the lads too see and make them appreciate how great what they have is. The support around the world is fantastic.
“I’d like to think that in the Liverpool tradition we will play good football. We will also bring some of our U18s so will get their first experience of playing abroad. We will have the same squad that play Man City at the weekend. There is a tradition of this club playing a good style of football and we are honoured to try and continue that.”
Beale is a good friend of Sligo boss Dave Robertson and he is looking forward to the reunion with the man who played a big part in helping the Reds U21s boss take his first steps into coaching.
Beale added: “Dave has been a friend of mine for 15 years. When I was young and he was with Crystal Palace and he gave me my first ever coaching job there.
"After that I worked with Chelsea for a long time but we have never come directly up against each other so this will be the first time. My teams have played Peterborough United when he was head of the youth system there but it will be the first time we will stand in opposing dugouts.
"We have been close for a while and we always regularly share ideas. Dave is known as someone who watches a lot of games and has a keen interest in developing players. Hopefully he will bring success to Sligo this year.
“One of the main reasons for coming over is also to help him and you never know what things may come up in future. They signed Craig Roddan recently who had been with us and we are looking forward to seeing Craig again."