EDS will learn from Liverpool loss, says Wilkinson | OneFootball

EDS Lead coach Ben Wilkinson was left with a sense of frustration after a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool in City’s Premier League 2 opener, but said there were positives to draw on.

Dominic Corness gave the Liverpool a first-half lead in Saturday's encounter on Merseyside with a low shot into the far post that beat City keeper Jack Wint.

However, the City youngsters fought back when captain Jacob Wright curled in a sublime shot from outside the box to draw us level before the break.

Straight after the resumption it was the turn of Liverpool’s captain, Thomas Hill, to score as he fired in from a tight angle to restore the hosts lead, before James Norris headed in Liverpool’s third from a corner to seal victory.

“We’re left frustrated because I thought we didn’t quite perform to the level we are capable of,” said Wilkinson when reflecting on the display.

“Despite that, we were still in the game for a long time and probably came off second best in both boxes with the way we defended our box for their goals and not being clinical enough with the opportunities we had ourselves.

“There’s lots for us to review and put into practice for next week as we try and make small improvements for the next game.

“It’s a case of getting the players recovered because we haven’t got a lot of bodies at the moment, and for a lot of them it was their first 90 minutes since they came back to us in July.

“It's about getting back together, refocusing and trying to put as strong a performance as we can on Tuesday.”

City dominated large parts of the first-half after Liverpool’s opener, but weren’t able to convert the chances that came our way.

“The last 20 minutes of the first half looked more like what we wanted the game to look like,” added Wilkinson.

“We were looking to expose there weaknesses and the areas that we wanted to attack, and we created other opportunities so that was pleasing and we came in at half-time still thinking we’ve got a chance in the second-half of winning the game.”

Next time out sees Wilkinson lead City’s EDS side into the EFL Trophy, and our campaign begins with a trip to Paul Cook’s Chesterfield, with kick-off set for 19:00pm (UK) on Tuesday, 20 August.

Wilkinson believes it’s a great opportunity for the development of City’s Elite Development Squad and their future senior careers.

“It’s always a real challenge in these games because of the level of opposition and the difference in experience of the two sets of players.

“They’re really good games for us and historically we know we can take a lot out of those types of games so I’m looking forward to it.”