1 year ago
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Here’s a picture of LFC’s goalscorer in action. | Photo by Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
The Young Reds faced off against Derby County in League play.
Following Liverpool’s big win over Bournemouth on the weekend, it would make sense for things to calm down for a moment. The players, after all, deserve a break and thus it would mean that news regarding the men’s senior team would probably be a bit hard to come by.
This is great for everyone involved except for, you guessed it, those of us who bang on the keys about Liverpool FC in order to make some extra scratch. This is doubly difficult for those of us (read: me) that do the overnight pieces as it usually means I’m trawling the bottom of a barrel that’s been picked over multiple times.
This isn’t a complaint! It’s the time I signed up for and the only one that makes sense for me and my schedule. But it does mean, sometimes, you have to resort to finding new ways to make news that sometimes would go below the fold, as they in the industry, feel like it really pops.
Which is why I’ve brought back my “I Watched it So you Don’t Have To” bit. Today, we’ll be looking at the official site’s highlights of the U21’s 1-1 draw against Derby County.
0:25 - The Young Reds are hosts for the day so we get our first proper shot of the AXA Training Center’s pitch. Thinking of this and while’s definitely not Anfield, it’s gotta still be a minor thrill for any young footballer to step foot on these professionally kept fields and play in front of folks that are there to see you.
0:30 - Lineups are out and for Liverpool, it’s a couple of pretty familiar names in attack with Mateusz Musialowski on the left wing and Oakley Cannonier at striker. The announcer notes that Trent Kone-Doherty, slotted in at right wing, is making their first start in the League.
1:42 - The Reds string together a nice bit of interplay and our left back, Calum Scanlon finds themselves played into the 18 and flashes a strike that goes right across the face of the goal. Buzzing the tower early.
2:28 - I’ve replayed this bit a few times now and I’m almost certain I’ve heard this right: Derby have a player-coach on their team and they’re on the pitch. I...am so intrigued by this. I’ve now gone back to the beginning of the video to confirm that, yes, Derby County midfielder Brad Johnson is their player-coach.
2:33 - Now that I know, it’s impossible not to notice number 4 looking quite...full-grown adult out there lol
2:52 - Derby win a corner and the Reds manage to knock it out but only as far as Grown Man Johnson, who misplays the ball and that’s how the sequence ends on the highlight package.
3:25 - James Norris - the winger that played Calum Scanlon in earlier - makes another nifty pass and I’d say we should keep an eye on this kid. Very good at making an incisive pass.
3:54 - Musialowski picks up the ball outside of the 18 and carries it before firing a shot from pretty far out. It falls tamely into the keeper’s hands.
4:45 - Frauendorf plays Musialowski into the box and the Polish attacker has time and space to line up his shot. Perhaps he was surprised by the amount of space he had because he puts the shot just wide.
5:29 - Half-Time signalled. Both teams go in level at nil-nil.
5:49 - Liverpool have a throw-in but give the ball away, leading to a Derby County chance from a similar position on the field as where Scanlon scuffed his shot. Thankfully, it’s a similar result for Derby the match remains scoreless.
6:10 - It’s Liverpool’s turn to have a big chance with midfielder Tom Hill intercepting a misplayed ball and sending an inch-perfect pass to Cannonier, who finds space between two defenders. Unfortunately, the striker can’t put the shot on target.
6:42 - REDS GOAL! It’s Tom Hill again with an incredible pass to pick out Trent Kone-Doherty as the winger makes an outside-in run off the backshoulder of his defender. The attacker, having outpaced the defenders to the ball, then gather and squares, tucking the ball neatly into the far corner. Tremendous work from Hill and Kone-Doherty. In the review of the build-up, we learn that the Kone-Doherty is from Derry which is great for this fan of a particular Netflix series.
7:46 - We might have missed it earlier but it was just mentioned that Tom Hill was making his first competitive start in 2 years, coming back from a major injury. Some return. His long passing was something to marvel over.
9:00 - Derby Goal. What a difficult goal to concede, off of a corner and the ball ending up loose in a jumble before being lashed in. Based on the highlights, though, it looked like Derby turned it up, chasing and then catching an equalizer. Deserved.
END - The last few highlights looked all Derby. A nervy end to a well-contested match.
