Liverpool’s U18s were soundly beaten 5-0 away to Blackburn on Saturday, but it was a proud day for 16-year-old Harvey Owen.
Blackburn U18s 5-0 Liverpool U18s
U18 Premier League, Blackburn Rovers training groundFebruary 15, 2025
Goals: Potter 30′, Edmondson 61′, Sergeant 77′, Joseph 88′, Airoboma OG 90+3′
Sent off: Enahoro-Marcus 67′
Marc Bridge-Wilkinson’s side were 11th in the table heading into their U18 Premier League clash, as they faced a trip to a Blackburn team sitting in sixth place.
Owen was named in the U18s squad for the first time, having joined Liverpool from 2023 after seven years at Wolves.
Josh Sonni-Lambie went close to opening the scoring, narrowly missing the target, but the visitors were on the back foot in the first half.
Playing on a pitch that made a cow field look pristine, the young Reds eventually fell behind shortly before the half-four mark.
Aaron Potter finished from close range after good work from Jayden Sergeant, with the latter a menace throughout.
Bailey Hall was forced into a vital double save before half-time, keeping Liverpool in touch of their opponents, but improvements were needed.
That didn’t happen, sadly, with Stephen Edmondson doubling Blackburn’s advantage early in the second half.
The game was effectively done and dusted when Louis Enahoro-Marcus was sent off with 67 minutes on the clock, and Sergeant got his second of the day.
Valentin Joseph netted and Emmanuel Airoboma scored on own goal to compound Liverpool’s misery in the dying minutes.
On the plus side, Owen was introduced late in the day for his debut, in a big step in the right direction for the centre-back.
Liverpool U18s: Hall; Lonmeni, Evers, Airoboma, Enahoro-Marcus; Upton (Owen 77′), Ayman, Onanuga Ahmed 63′); Bradshaw, Sonni-Lambie, Martin (O’Connor 63′)
Subs not used: Bernard, Yeguo
Next Match: Newcastle (A) – U18 Premier League – February 22, 11am (GMT)
