A strong Liverpool U18s side suffered a humbling defeat in the third round of the FA Youth Cup, with a 4-1 loss to Preston seeing their run end at the first hurdle.
Preston U18s 4-1 Liverpool U18s
FA Youth Cup 3rd Round, Deepdale
December 6, 2024
Goals: Felipe 8′, Wilson 25′, Mawene 38, Gairns 61′; Ewing 83′
There will be no run to an eighth FA Youth Cup final for Liverpool after they fell at the first hurdle at the hands of a Preston side that plays in the Youth Alliance league.
The category three academy program hosted the Reds, a category one academy, at Deepdale on Friday evening and handed Marc Bridge-Wilkinson’s side a humbling cup exit.
The young Reds were without centre-back Amara Nallo and Trey Nyoni due to their first-team commitments for the now-postponed Merseyside derby.
Liverpool did, however, have a strong side that included the likes of Kornel Misciur, Carter Pinnington, Kieran Morrison and summer signing Rio Ngumoha.
By minute 38, though, the Reds were 3-0 down after goals from Felipe Rodriguez-Gentile, Max Wilson and Theo Mawene, with Liverpool having Misciur to thank in goal for preventing a further blowout.
Ngumoha offered a spark in attack late in the first half with a run into space on the left, but his shot was saved.
HT: Preston U18s 3-0 Liverpool U18s
Hopes of a comeback were quickly snuffed out by the 61st minute, as Preston added their fourth of the evening after they got behind Liverpool’s backline with a finish from the centre of the box.
The hosts continued to pepper the young Reds’ goal, but Liverpool got their reward for not giving up on the clash by scoring a consolation goal via 18-year-old Clae Ewing in the 83rd minute.
Morrison’s strong run on the right set the goal in motion, to at least give Liverpool one positive from their 4-1 defeat.
It is a significant underperformance compared to last season when the Reds progressed to the quarter-final of the competition. They last won it in 2019.
Liverpool U18s: Misciur; Esdaille (Enahoro-Marcus 68′), Pitt, Pinnington, Ewing; O’Connor (Upton 68′), Bradshaw, Ahmed; Morrison, Ngumoha, Sonni-Lambie
Subs not used: Hall, Furnell-Gill, Lonmeni, Martin, Cisse
Next match: Wolves (H) – U18 Premier League – Saturday, December 14, 12pm (GMT)
