ACADEMY: Pourie at double to derail Crewe

Dec 11 2007 by Chris Wright, Liverpool Daily Post

LIVERPOOL under-18s scored an excellent 3-1 victory at Crewe Alexandra on Saturday after going a goal down to put them in buoyant mood ahead of the first match in the defence of the FA Youth Cup.

Two goals from German striker Marvin Pourie and another from Nathan Eccleston secured three points and Hugh McAuley’s side can now focus on tomorrow night’s visit to Wycombe Wanderers in the third round of the FA Youth Cup.

In a game played in windy and wet conditions Liverpool had chances in the first half through Pourie and Eccleston, but they couldn’t take them.

Crewe took the lead just after the half-time interval following a mix-up between centre-back Joe Kennedy and goalkeeper Chris Oldfield. But Liverpool quickly hit back when German forward Pourie scored from the spot after being fouled for the kick himself.

Five minutes later McAuley’s youngsters took the lead when Eccleston headed home at the near post from a good cross by Sean Highdale. It was the striker’s 10th of the campaign.

Then late on Pourie got his second of the match and his eighth of the season when he headed in from Ben Parsonage’s cross.

McAuley said: “Conditions were very poor. It was very windy and very wet. And to be fair to the boys they adapted to the conditions very well.

“We had three or four good chances to go ahead in the first half and although we started the second half in the same way we went behind because of a mix-up. But I felt confident that if we kept passing, kept moving we would create more chances – which we did do.

“Under the difficult circumstances if was a very good performance. We played excellent football at times, Crewe played well and it was a good game of football.

“It was a very pleasing performance and it gives us some confidence to go into the Youth Cup match at Wycombe on Wednesday.

“We can push on and prepare for that and go down there and start again.”

Following tomorrow’s Youth Cup clash Liverpool will play their final match of the Academy League before the three-week Christmas break at the Kirkby Academy against West Bromwich Albion (kick-off 11am).

LIVERPOOL UNDER-18s: Oldfield, Irwin (Parsonage 76), Kennedy, Wootton, Mackay-Steven (Scott 75), Amoo, Highdale, Ajdarevic, Kacaniklic (Collins 60), Eccleston, Pourie. Sub: Hansen.