By Tyler Eaton
Will Wright continued his fine form, and the young Reds showed their fighting spirit in their EFL Trophy opener against Rochdale.
10-man Liverpool U21S came from 3-1 behind to beat Rochdale on penalties in their opening EFL Trophy game this week.
The Reds lined up with a strong side including James McConnell, Jayden Danns, and Luke Chambers.
Mor Talla Ndyiaye was sent off for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity in the 22nd minute. Liverpool adjusted well until Devante Rodney opened the scoring for the hosts in the 37th minute.
Will Wright continued his great form with a fantastic solo goal just before half-time. After gaining the ball on the halfway line, the youngster swerved in and out of Rochdale defenders before firing the ball in the top right corner.
Veteran Ian Henderson looked to have won the game for Rochdale with 2 goals in 4 minutes. However, Liverpool had other ideas, and stoppage-time strikes from Ben Truman and Josh Sonni-Lambie sent the game to a penalty shootout.
Wright, Truman, Oliver O'Connor, Joe Bradshaw, Luke Chambers, Sonni-Lambie, and Daniel Onanuga all converted their spot kicks before Rochdale goalkeeper Sam Waller saw his spot kick saved by Harvey Davies.
This win continued the momentum for Liverpool U21S after their 5-1 win over Brighton over the weekend.
Josh Sonni-Lambie opened the scoring inside two minutes before Michael Laffey, and Will Wright made it 3-0 before the 25th minute.
Wright scored his second goal of the game just after half-time, finishing calmly after Joe Bradshaw had stolen possession in a promising area. A Theo Outen own goal completed the rout in the 66th minute.
Bradshaw continued his hot start to life with the U21S with two more assists to Wright. It marked his fourth of the season and third in PL2. Sonni-Lambie also continued his seamless transition to U21S football with his first goal at this level. It was the 18-year-old’s second of the season after netting for the U19S against Athletico Madrid last week.
Liverpool’s U21S now sit 8th in the PL2 table with 7 points from four games. They don’t play again until October 6th in the EFL Trophy against Doncaster Rovers.
Simon Wiles’ U18S have made a habit of giving away two-goal leads this season. They did the reverse this weekend, coming from two goals down to draw 3-3 with Derby County.
Two quickfire goals after half-time from Erik Farkes and Luca Eden brought the Reds level before Remi Harvey put Derby 3-2 up. Eden then set up Zak Coxon for the equaliser in the 71st minute.
The U18S sit fifth in the U18 PL with 8 points from five games. Their next match isn’t until October 10th, where they take on Stoke City.
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