Spanish trip sharpens side
Aug 16 2005
Academy Football With Chris Wright, Daily Post
LIVERPOOL under-18s are hoping their Spanish sojourn has put them spot on for the new FA Premier Academy League season.
John Owens's side returned back from a mini-tournament near Valencia over the weekend raring to go for this Saturday's opener at Cardiff City.
After 2-2 draws at home to both Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City earlier this month, Owens's side travelled to Spain last Monday for four 30-minute each-way fixtures with some top La Liga opposition.
They lost the first match 3-0 to Espanyol; defeated Seville 1-0 with a Calum Woods header; beat Athletico Madrid 3-2 with goals from Woods and two from Francis Smith, one from the penalty spot; and lost 3-1 to Real Madrid, with Robbie Threlfall scoring.
Owens said: "We were up against it really. Most of the lads they had were third years. It is a different system. The British system in the third year they are in the reserves. They go to Mel-wood and they don't come back.
"There were a few players at Melwood who were eligible, but we kept it as an Academy side, which meant we were a year or two years younger in some cases."
"But it was a very good experience because in a tough task they are going to learn more."
But Owens was delighted with the tournament as it achieved its aim of bringing his squad closer to full match fitness in readiness for the start of the season. "Obviously you always like to win all your games, but the real test is whether it has done its job in getting them ready match-wise and fitness-wise for Saturday.
"It has been a very good pre-season. The timing of the tournament was right. It is the week we wanted to get four games on a trot like that. I am confident that the pre-season has gone pretty much how we would have wanted it and got us ready," he added..
Owens has just two fitness worries ahead of the first match. Strikers Threlfall and Michael Nardiello have groin and hamstring problems respectively but both are expected to be fit for Saturday.
FULL ACADEMY SQUAD: Third years - Paul Lancaster, Conal Platt, Calum Woods. Second years - Paul Barratt, James Frayne, Adam Hammill, Jordan Holmes, Francis Smith. First years - Charlie Barnett, Stephen Behan, Michael Burns, Stephen Darby, Ryan Flynn, Craig Lindfield, Josh Mimms, Michael Nardiello, Johnathan Pringle, Raymond Putterill, David Roberts, James Ryan, Jay Spearing, Robert Threlfall, Ryan Wignall, Lee Woodward.
