Young Reds held in opener
Jordan Lussey struck a magnificent equaliser as Liverpool U18s came from behind to claim a creditable 1-1 draw against Cardiff City on Saturday afternoon.
The versatile youngster finished off a positive run with a rasping 25 yarder on 74 minutes to cancel out Joe Ralls's opener from the penalty spot.
It means Mike Marsh maintains his unbeaten run since assuming the U18 hot-seat in the summer and he will now look to re-energise his squad in time for the long journey to Portsmouth next weekend.
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On a bright morning in Kirkby, the Reds looked intent on carrying on the goalscoring exploits that had been a feature of their pre-season and almost got off to a flyer when Jack Dunn saw his goalbound effort deflected to safety on five minutes.
The hosts were playing with a hunger and an urgency that the visitors were struggling to cope with in the early exchanges leading to another opening just moments later.
The busy Dunn breezed down the left and sent a teasing cross to the far post where Kristoffer Peterson guided a header wide with David Richards all at sea in the Bluebirds' goal.
Substitute Sam Gainford then brought the best out of Richards with a low shot from Yalany Baio's pass before Lussey was forced to hack clear from underneath his own crossbar after a Cardiff corner from the left had threatened to arc directly into the goal.
The visitors had slowly gained a foothold in the game as the half wore on and as Liverpool toiled they should have gone ahead on 35 minutes.
A long ball over the top sent Jessie Darko rampaging towards goal. The powerful striker held off Matty Regan but saw his attempted lob drop inches over the crossbar with Jamie Stephens stranded in no man's land.
The Reds looked to step it up a gear following the interval but it was the away side who again looked the more threatening with Ralls crashing a low effort just past the far post.
It had developed into a keenly contested encounter and there didn't look like being a breakthrough until the Reds were penalised for a handball 20 minutes from time.
Ralls stepped up and comfortably beat Stephens from the spot to give the visitors what they must have felt was a winning goal.
However, they reckoned without the perseverance of Lussey who side stepped two challenges before smashing a stunning leveller into the top corner just six minutes later.
Substitute David Moli then came close to sneaking victory when he almost converted on 89 minutes but it wasn't to be and the hosts were forced to settle for a share of the spoils.
Liverpool U18s: Jamie Stephens, Peter Aylmer, Tom King, Joe Rafferty, Matty Regan, Yalany Baio, Kristoffer Peterson (Sam Gainford), Jack Dunn (Michael Wilson), Adam Morgan (David Moli), Josh Sumner, Jordan Lussey. Unused subs: Connor Wearing, Henoc Mukendi.