Under-18s: Liverpool v United

The first whistle had only just sounded when captain Finley McAllister chased down an inviting through ball on the right flank and provided a smart cutback to James Scanlon on the edge of the six-yard box. Our no.10 cannoned a shot high towards the roof of the goal and beyond Liverpool goalkeeper Kornel Misciur to open the scoring.

United made sure our early sustained pressure paid off when Ethan Wheatley, with his back to goal, received a short pass from Jacob Devaney. Our no.9 quickly turned and shaped up as if he was going for a curled effort into the far corner, before neatly slotting a disguised finish inside the near post, to make it 2-0.

Moments later, Wheatley this time rushed through the Liverpool defence on the inside right and, despite being under a fair amount of pressure, found the bottom left corner for the third goal of the morning.

Ethan Williams made sure he was involved in the action before the half-hour point and set off on a slaloming run from deep to reach the edge of the box. Once there, the effort he produced was powerful enough to find the net and establish a four-goal advantage for our young Reds.

It was only the woodwork that prevent Bendito Mantato from notching a fifth, before Liverpool managed to take it down the other end and claw one back through Joe Bradshaw, who lofted a one-on-one finish over United keeper Elyh Harrison.

Our hosts showed positive intent early in the second half, but United would soon dampen any hopes of a Merseyside revival in this bout. Wheatley caused the opposition defence problems all afternoon and he topped off a fine display with this third goal in the game just before the 60th minute. His dummy from yards out sent his marker and the goalkeeper in the wrong direction before the striker checked back the opposite way and placed home the fifth.

The aforementioned scorer came off the pitch soon after, but Scanlon took on the baton once more to net United's sixth, receiving the ball on the inside right before losing his marker and curling a low finish into the far corner.

Gabriele Biancheri then put his own stamp on the game less than 10 minutes after he had entered the field, progressing a low cross from Jayden Kamason towards the byline, before using the post to his advantage to seal the seventh from a tight angle.

The substitute forward popped up once more, in true poacher's fashion behind the last man, to ensure a Louis Jackson header was goalbound by poking it home at the back post for United's eighth.

It was Ashton Missin who completed the scoring with a contender for goal of the game, plucking the ball out of the sky with a deft touch outside the penalty area before placing his strike into the top-right corner.

MATCH DETAILS

United: Harrison; Kamason, Jackson, Kingdon (J. Fletcher 59), Nolan; McAllister, Devaney (Baumann 64); Mantato, Scanlon (Missin 64), Williams; Wheatley (Biancheri 59).

Substitutes not used: Myles.

Goals: Bradshaw 32 | Scanlon 1, 61, Wheatley 12, 15, 57, Williams 25, Biancheri 69, 83, Missin 88.