U18s match reportLiverpool 0-1 Nottingham Forest

The young Reds - scorers of 20 goals in their previous five league outings - hit the woodwork twice but were unable to unpick a well-drilled Forest outfit, who struck decisively early on through Kyle McAdam.

Marc Bridge-Wilkinson’s side now have two U18 Premier League North fixtures remaining this season, at home to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday and away at Newcastle United a week later.

Harvey Blair was Liverpool’s main outlet in the early stages and the forward nearly created an opening for Oakley Cannonier following a surging dribble, only for his cut-back to be intercepted.

Forest, though, had settled the quicker of the teams and they netted with a quarter of an hour played as McAdam met a cross from the right with a drilled effort that found the bottom corner.

Detlef Osapa Osong went close as the visitors sought a second, but the young Reds - supported from the sidelines by Daniel Agger - then found their way into the contest and Bobby Clark was unfortunate to see a measured curler strike the inside of the post and rebound to safety.

Forest goalkeeper Aaron Bott made a smart save from Melkamu Frauendorf and good link-up between Clark and Cannonier ended with the former seeing his shot blocked by a last-ditch tackle.

The away side got to the interval with their slender advantage intact, but Cannonier almost equalised soon after the restart as he collected Clark’s pass and looked to find the top corner from a tight angle.

Clark had emerged as Liverpool’s likeliest source of inspiration so his enforced substitution due to injury with around 20 minutes remaining dented their hopes of levelling.

Blair saw a stoppage-time free-kick deflect onto the crossbar but, despite their best efforts, Bridge-Wilkinson’s team were unable to break down a determined and organised opponent.

Liverpool U18s: Mrozek, Frauendorf, Miles, Chambers, Scanlon, Stephenson, Pilling, McConnell, Blair, Clark (Koumas, 70), Cannonier.

Unused substitutes: Hewitson, Gyimah.