Liverpool U18s open season with thrashing of Middlesbrough

Lewis Koumas scored three times in the opening 45 minutes, with a Ben Doak penalty and an own goal helping to put the young Reds 5-1 up at half-time in a 6-2 aggregate win over Middlesbrough at home last Saturday.

Koumas made a bright start to the Premier League North Under-18 campaign for Marc Bridge-Wilkinson's side. It took Liverpool less than half an hour to establish a 4-0 lead.

Liverpool opened their account for the campaign through an own goal after five minutes.  Doak raced into the penalty area and his eventual shot was inadvertently deflected towards Aidan Bridge, who had been tracking back.

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The lead was doubled four minutes later when Koumas expertly controlled Niall Osborne's ball across goal before finishing convincingly at the near post. Doak continued to threaten down the left flank, and the Celtic newcomer won and converted a penalty to score his side's third goal in the 22nd minute. In a similar move to the second goal, Koumas again made it 4-0 when he latched on to another Osborne pass and beat Boro keeper Nathan Fisher.

Line-up

That goal prompted an immediate response from the visitors as Howells drove into the box and found the bottom right corner of the net. The home side scored again before the first half was out, Koumas pouncing on an unmarked back pass and calmly slotting past Fisher to complete his hat-trick.

It was a similar story after the break, with Bridge-Wilkinson's side on top. After Koumas had struck from a yard out for his fourth goal. The visitors pulled a goal back with Ashley MacCarthy's strike with a quarter of an hour remaining, but the damage was irreversible.  

Liverpool Under-18s line-up: Mrozek, Osborne, Pinnington, Miles, Giblin, McConnell, Pennington (Laffey, 58), Doak (Gyimah, 70), Young (Hayes-Green, 82), Kone-Doherty (Figueroa, 70), Koumas. Morana was the only substitute who did not play.