Dominant Beckett Sweep Liverpool Aside

(H) Leeds Beckett University (16/11/2022)

KO 15:00

Report by Fred Stewart

For the third time in as many fixtures, University of Liverpool First XI leave Wyncote empty handed. A well-drilled Leeds Beckett University side inflicted this disappointing result, leaving Liverpool winless in their opening four games.

            

  Last week’s loss was one of fine margins against local rivals Manchester, with an inability to capitalise on created chances being the difference between the two. However, table-topping Leeds Beckett posed a daunting challenge. Remaining unbeaten through the first four games of the season, they boast a free scoring attacking juggernaut that was firing on all cylinders – restricting Liverpool in almost every aspect of the game.

              From the word go, Beckett showed an array of attacking weapons. Mere minutes into the game, a long throw sailed into the Liverpool eighteen-yard box. This posed a threat that Liverpool dealt with throughout the game. Despite this early tactical juncture, Leeds kept the pressure on, forcing Liverpool goalkeeper James Pyper into one gravity-defying save following a bullet header.

              Minutes after this, the immense Beckett pressure finally paid dividends. After the ball had been given away cheaply, Leeds set their pacey wide-man clear behind a stretched Liverpool back-four and he slotted it into the far corner. Soon after this, they made it two. The ball pin-balled around on the edge of the box, with Liverpool failing to clear their lines and allowing the Beckett right-midfielder to find the net with a lovely curling finish. As the half drew to a close, Liverpool did well to not concede a third – Beckett providing some inviting balls along the six-yard box, as well as testing Pyper from range.   

              After the half-time break, Liverpool began to show flashes of positive play. Midfielder Toby Cogswell was able to play in striker Rio Gill after displaying some nice footwork, with Gill’s finish missing the net by an agonisingly small margin.

             
Following this nice passage of play, Beckett’s dominance told. As the game progressed past the fiftieth minute, a one-two punch of Leeds chances were both converted, all but ending the game as a competition. One of the goals deserves a mention, with the talismanic Leeds midfielder arriving in the box to produce an acrobatic overhead kick, leaving the Liverpool defence with no chance.

Soon after this, the Blues managed to leave their mark on the game, a nicely worked set-piece routine leading to Jonathan Timmins placing it home past the discombobulated Beckett ‘keeper for his first goal of the season. In the late flurries of the game, Beckett finished with a flourish, scoring twice in the last ten minutes to seal Liverpool’s fate: the game ending 6-1.

The emphatic nature of this defeat will doubtlessly leave Liverpool wounded. Now without a win in their opening four games, a sizeable turnaround is required to save their season. It must be said that a combination of injuries and illness resulted in a depleted squad, but a damning result like this will ignite a fire under the squad which will be on display in their next fixture, a return against Christie Cup foes: the University of Leeds in the cup.   

Goals: 

    Leeds Beckett: 10', 26', 53', 62', 77', 85'

    Liverpool: Timmins 67'

Yellow Cards: Ryan (10)

Substitutes: Louvre (12), Harper (13)