 Aston Villa Res 3 LIVERPOOL RES 0
 Report by Dave Usher at the Bescot Stadium
Scorer(s) -
Half Time - 3-0
Venue - Bescot Stadium, Walsall FC
Date - Mon 24 Apr 2006
Star Man - James Smith
 A
first half defensive horror show condemned Liverpool Reserves to a 3-0 defeat away at
title chasing Aston Villa last night. The young reds steadied the ship after the break and
didn’t concede any further goals, but rarely looked like scoring themselves and Villa
ran out comfortable winners.
Paco Herrera included four of the side that had lifted the FA Youth Cup last
Friday, as Godwin Antwi took his place in the backline and Jack Hobbs, Miki Roque and Paul
Anderson lined up in midfield. Fellow youth cup winners Robbie Threlfall and Craig
Lindfield were on the bench.
Liverpool's formation was a bit puzzling, as there was no left sided midfield
player. It looked like Lee Peltier was given the job of playing on the left, but he was
tucked infield most of the time and the side was very unbalanced.
The young reds got off to a terrible start when keeper David Martin was beaten to a
left wing cross by Sam Williams who’s header found the far corner of the net after only
four minutes.
Things would get worse for Martin less than ten minutes after, when he failed to
claim a routine catch from a left wing corner, and spilled the ball onto the head of
O'Halloran who nodded it towards goal where Williams headed in from close range.
Martin has been in excellent form since arriving from MK Dons in January, and this
was the first poor game he’s had to be fair to him.
In terms of attacking play, Liverpool were offering nothing. Danny Guthrie provided
the main hope of creating something, as Calliste was well shackled and Anderson had a
quiet first half.
The winger did have a half chance after 19 minutes when he seized onto a short back
pass, but he shot wide under pressure from the full back. It was a rare moment of anxiety
for an otherwise untroubled Villa backline.
When these sides met a few weeks ago, it was a bad tempered affair which ended in a
mass brawl and three red cards. Two of those players who were dismissed, Peltier and
Villa's Scott Bridges, were involved in this game but the third, Isiah Osbourne, was
missing.
This game was played in a much better spirit, and there were none of the horror
tackles from the Villa players which we saw last time. Villa needed to win this game to
have any chance of catching the mancs at the top of the reserve league, and their extra
motivation was evident in a first half in which they were first to virtually every loose
ball.
They made it 3-0 when the lively Shane Paul escaped from Barragan and Antwi in the
box and cut the ball back for Kabeya who side footed the ball past Martin from 10 yards
out. It was a good goal, but Paul went past the reds defence far too easily. It's not
often Antwi is beaten like that, but he wasn't at his best and like Hobbs, seemed a little
jaded.
Guthrie almost pulled one back for the reds after a brilliant run shortly before
half time, but his shot was parried by Olejnik and Calliste’s follow up effort was well
blocked by a defender. It was Liverpool's best effort of the game.
There was a distinct improvement after the break, and the reds enjoyed the bulk of
the possession without ever really threatening the Villa goal. Robbie Foy was brought on
in place of the disappointing Barragan, and at least the side looked more balanced with
Foy providing much needed width on the left.
Roque dropped into Barragan's right back role, and Peltier took up his favoured
central role. The changes helped Liverpool, but it was also obvious that Villa took their
foot off the gas having established a 3-0 lead.
Olejnik only had to make two routine stops in the second half, one from a Peltier
25 yarder and the other after Calliste had made space on the edge of the box and got a low
shot in.
At the other end Williams should have had a hat-trick when Martin flapped at
another cross, but the striker shot into the side netting.
It was a poor performance from the reds, but take the goalkeeping errors out and
the scoreline would have been close. That doesn't alter the fact that in an attacking
sense they were toothless, and the lack of a top striker has been a problem all season (as
it was last year). Calliste has done ok and scored some good goals, but he's no Neil
Mellor.
The lads did keep trying right until the end and people like Guthrie and Anderson
never stopped running. I was really struggling for a star man, but James Smith produced
his customary 7 out of 10 display and it seems that whereas some players can fluctuate
between 5 and 10, Jay is always Mr Dependable. Never worse than a 7, occasionally an 8.
O'Donnell did nothing wrong either, and Guthrie produced a good range of passing
and always looked the most likely to produce something.
With two more reserve games coming up this week, the lads are going to have to dig
deep into their fitness reserves, as the reserves have a small squad and Herrera's options
are limited.
The next game is scheduled for the Racecourse Ground this thursday against West
Brom.
For exclusive photo's from this game, click here
Team: Martin; Barragan (Foy), Antwi, O'Donnell, Smith; Anderson, Hobbs
(Idrizaj), Roque (Threlfall), Peltier; Guthrie; Calliste: |
  Aston Villa Res 3, Liverpool Res 0 Apr 25 2006, Daily Post
LIVERPOOL Reserves went down to a 3-0 defeat away at Aston Villa in the Barclays FA
Premier Reserve League North last night.
All three goals came in a first half which was dominated by the home side.
Villa took the lead after only four minutes when Williams rose above the Liverpool
keeper to head home.
The striker claimed his second goal on 13 minutes when Martin flapped at a corner
and Williams was left with a simple header from close range.
Paul Anderson had a chance to pull one back shortly afterwards but shot wide under
pressure, before Kabeya added a third for the Villa after great play by Shane Paul.
Liverpool improved after the break and enjoyed plenty of possession, but Ramon
Calliste's 20-yard shot which brought a routine save from the Villa keeper was the closest
they came to a consolation Lee Peltier also had a shot from distance easily saved.
And Villa almost grabbed a fourth when Martin spilled another cross and Williams
blew his chance of a hat-trick by putting the ball into the side netting.
ASTON VILLA: Olejnik, Bridges, Green, Lowry (Earls 90),
O'Halloran, Hogg, Paul, Lund (Stieber 67), Williams, Herd (McGurk 75), Kabeya.
LIVERPOOL: Martin, Barragan (Foy 46),
Smith, Antwi, O'Donnell, Hobbs (Idrizaj 62), Anderson, Peltier, Calliste, Guthrie, Roque
(Threlfall 60).
Star Man James Smith and fellow defenders O'Donnell and
Antwi (photo with site - http://liverpoolway.co.uk)
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