Another famous son scored a crucial goal for Liverpool under-18s, with Jayden Danns netting the winner to keep the young Reds in the trophy hunt.
Marc Bridge-Wilkinson’s squad are currently in Northern Ireland competing in the SuperCupNI, formerly the NI Milk Cup, as part of their pre-season preparations.
The young Reds drew their opening match 1-1 with Valencia, with Keyrol Figueroa (son of ex-Wigan player Maynor Figueroa) rocketing to get a first point on the scoreboard in the four-team group tournament Italian style.
Their second game saw Liverpool face Man United, who had lost their first game, and there was only one goal on Wednesday night.
Danns, son of former Liverpool schoolboy and Football League journeyman Neil Danns, was in charge as his impressive form in front of goal continued. The 17-year-old scored with a flat finish just five minutes from half-time, the reward for Liverpool’s pressure which saw United make a mistake playing from behind.
It’s the fourth goal of an impressive pre-season for the youngster, who plays against both youth and senior opponents.
Similar to the first game, Liverpool’s goalkeeper, this time Kornel Misciur, who arrived from Hull in March, had to intervene decisively.
📸 Liverpool spending time with the fans at Coleraine Showgrounds following their 1-0 win over Manchester United@LFC | @ManUtd | @presseyephoto | #lfc | #mufc pic.twitter.com/Iz5LZRbHd8
— SuperCupNI ⚽️🏆 (@SuperCupNI) July 26, 2023
Trent Kone-Doherty came on as a substitute and proved a nuisance on the left wing. The 17-year-old was unlucky not to extend the lead, ending any remaining United hopes.
However, the final whistle would see Liverpool go unbeaten in the tournament with a 1-0 win. They have one last game to go against Hertha on Friday, if they beat Valencia’s result – who meet United – or win by a bigger margin, they will be crowned SuperCupNI winners. Enough to play for!
The last time the Reds won was in 1988 when Steve McManaman was the under-16 star.
Liverpool U18: Misciur; Davidson, Gyimah, Pitt, Furnell-Gill; Pinnington, Morrison (Pennington 62′), Bradshaw (Kone-Doherty 56′); Ahmed, Danns, Figueroa (Esdaille 80′)
