Liverpool Under-21s suffered a narrow setback at Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday evening, but young striker Will Wright came close to adding another memorable goal to his collection. The 19-year-old, who had little sight of goal in the first half, was challenged to race Doncaster centre-back Neill Byrne for a long ball towards the touchline. Wright won that battle, picked up the loose ball and floated an audacious chip from 35 yards that beat home goalkeeper Josh Clarke but struck the underside of the crossbar.
Wright's Near Miss and Second-Half Dominance
While not quite a repeat of his superb solo goal at Rochdale a fortnight ago, the incident proved a turning point for Wright, who had been given a tough examination by the experienced 33-year-old Byrne, boasting more than 500 career appearances. The teenager had a shot saved by Clarke and curled another effort narrowly wide of the far post after drifting in from the left flank. There were other near moments as the visitors dominated the second half, and both Wright and Liverpool deserved more from the evening.
Chambers Impresses in Unusual Role
Luke Chambers has had an unusual season so far. After featuring in the early stages of the Andoni Iraola era in pre-season, the expectation was that the 22-year-old would have another temporary spell learning his craft after a decent loan with Charlton Athletic in the Championship during the second half of last season. For whatever reason, it didn't transpire, with Chambers instead gaining minutes in this competition and Premier League 2 while making the first-team bench against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League and Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup.
Predominantly a left-back, Chambers was used by Iraola at centre-back during the summer and, with Mor Talla Ndiaye suspended, lined up in the heart of defence alongside Wellity Lucky. He was hugely impressive, his experience from several spells in senior football evident among a youthful Liverpool line-up in which Alvin Ayman was making his first outing in the competition at left-back and Josh Sonni-Lambie his first start. Liverpool have now dropped to third in Group B and must gain a positive result at group leaders Huddersfield on Tuesday, November 10 to remain in the competition.
O'Connor's Versatility and Appetite for Work
There has become something of a running joke among regular observers of Liverpool Academy's team regarding where the versatile Oliver O'Connor may find himself playing. Here the 18-year-old, who signed his first professional contract with Liverpool in the summer, began at right-back with his customary energetic approach allowing him to augment the attack whenever possible. O'Connor's forward leanings meant he was occasionally overly-ambitious with attempts to play his way out of trouble, and his strong tracking back couldn't atone for every positional misunderstanding.
But this competition is exactly for such lessons to be learned, and O'Connor's sheer appetite for hard work will serve him in good stead as he continues his career. Typically, by the end of the game he had featured for spells in central midfield, left-back and on the left wing. He rarely lets Liverpool down regardless of position.
Liverpool line-up (4-1-4-1): Davies; O'Connor, Lucky, Chambers, Ayman; Upton (Trueman 69); Sonni-Lambie (Cisse 62), Laffey (Farkas 85), McConnell (Onanuga 85), Bradshaw; W Wright. Subs: M Wright, Spearing, Cowley. Bookings: McConnell, Onanuga.
