International action may be set to dominate the next three weeks of the footballing calendar, but Liverpool Under-21s were back in action after their demolition of Brighton on Saturday as a trip to Rochdale in the EFL Trophy beckoned for Rob Page’s side. 

Fresh off the back of their resounding Premier League 2 win, Will Wright was once again leading the line following his brace and assist-laden display, whilst Jayden Danns was also handed a start alongside Joe Bradshaw in the frontline. 

The Reds have found this competition notoriously difficult for a number of reasons; however, the inclusion of James McConnell and Luke Chambers certainly gave cause for optimism amongst the travelling fans that a successful start in the newly named Jersey Mike’s Trophy was possible. 

After a promising start from the visitors, with Wright at the heart of all the attacking threat, Mor Talla Ndiaye was dismissed after giving away a free kick in a dangerous area, with the referee judging the Senegalese central defender to be the last man and denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity.

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An already difficult test made all the more challenging as Page’s side were now forced to play the best part of a 75 minutes down to 10 against senior opposition. 

Despite the adversity, Liverpool responded well to being down a man initially and were still looking more than competitive until a Devante Rodney strike from distance evaded Harvey Davies to give the hosts the lead. 

Not to be perturbed by the tricky circumstances, Chambers made a bursting run out of defence before Wright took over down the left, and his perseverance paid off when the determined frontman powered home his sixth goal of the season to make it level again at half-time. 

Albeit a more concerted backs-against-the-wall effort, the Reds made it past the hour mark with the score still level before Page turned to the bench as Fola Onanuga replaced McConnell.

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There was a bizarre moment midway through the half as numerous fireworks appeared overhead in a short space of time, forcing the referee to halt proceedings momentarily so the pitch could be cleared and, presumably, the guilty parties could be dealt with outside the stadium. 

The resistance was finally broken when Harvey Davies was beaten to the ball inside the area, and it was squared to 41-year-old local legend Ian Henderson to poke home. 

Moments later Henderson extended the lead with a deft lob from outside the area, a worrying double salvo that raised alarm bells of a potential unravelling after such a monumental shift. 

However, in perhaps the most impressive showing of never-say-die attitude this season, an Oli O’Connor-inspired Liverpool somehow found a way back when Ben Trueman and Josh Sonni-Lambie scored in the 94th and 96th minutes, respectively, to force the unlikely list of penalty shootouts for the extra point. 

With every effort from 12 yards converted, it was then up to Rochdale goalkeeper Sam Waller to step up; however, Davies guessed rightly and strongly pushed the effort to one side to give the Reds a well-earned additional point for their unbelievable fightback. 

After the match, Dan spoke to Rob Page to get his thoughts on an incredible night…

On the result: “It’s a normal game of football, isn’t it? I mean, what character and resilience the boys showed to come back, not only from the sending-off early on in the game, but to show character, see the game through and still try to play as much as we could with 10 men. To dig deep, I thought the substitutes came on and made a difference and gave us fresh legs in the middle of the park where we needed them. Nothing but praise for that group. Great character.”

Did you think at 3-1 that was a bit harsh? “Yeah, because I think if we look back at the goals, they didn’t have to work too hard for them, if I’m honest. We’re disappointed with the manner in which we’ve conceded the goals. So that’s encouraging for us because we’ve won the game, albeit through penalties, but we were down to 10 men, and we think we’ve helped them with the goals a little bit as well. I’ve just said to them, you can’t fault their effort, but I also think there’s room for improvement. There’s definitely work in progress, and that’s encouraging for us to know that you’re winning games, but you still think you can do better.”

On Will Wright: “We talk about him every week for his goals. He was a constant threat, wasn’t he?  I said that was the message at half-time. I think they’ll have a little bit more respect for Will Wright after the first 45 minutes. He was a constant threat. But as I said, every man out there worked their socks off and helped with that result in the end.”

Is this the proudest you’ve been of this group since you got here? “Yeah, I’d say so. I know what they’re like because I train with them every day, and I know what they’re like as characters. They’re a great group. I think you’ve got people like the unsung heroes, like Michael Laffey. He got a great goal on Saturday. He’s got a knack for timing his run perfectly and getting into the box. But without those moments, you can still rely on him 100%. You know exactly what you’re going to get from him week in, week out. Joe Upton was the same. He wasn’t involved tonight, but that was purely because of the first-team players who had stepped down. He’s been outstanding for us in the middle of the park. We’ve got a couple of Liverpool boys in the middle of the park that are like a little bit of a tear-up, and they’re outrunning teams. When you’ve got that as a foundation, that gives you a chance.”

On Oli O’Connor: “Very good. He’s quite flexible, isn’t he? In the Champions League, he played wide left to start with and finished the game at right-back. Today, he’s played right-back and right wing. We changed the shape later on because we wanted to get a bit more attacking power at the top of the pitch. Prince, again, coming in at right-back. So he and Oli gave a great account of themselves.”

Season so far: “We’re pleased. I was disappointed with West Ham. I didn’t think it was a defeat. I didn’t think it was a win, if I’m being completely honest. I thought it was a point on the road. Then we come back and have a look at the game again and try to improve on what we didn’t do well. Apart from that, I’ve been really pleased with them. Even Everton away in the first game, again with the sending-off, we’ve had to show resilience then, and that really pleases me that we’ve got that. There are aspects of the game that we need to improve on, and we will. It’s still a work in progress, but I’m really, really pleased.”

On the resilience: “We talk about being proud to wear the jersey, and when you wear the badge, there comes a level of expectation when you go out and play for Liverpool. They know that Jay who’s played for the club, won’t accept anything less than 100%. So they’ve got that built-in resilience. It’s the character that we want in the team. We’ve tried to change the mentality in the 12 months that I’ve been here, and I’m seeing it every day in training. The intensity of training has increased, and they’ve got that winning mentality. I said the message before the game tonight was, “How good do you feel after that performance and result on Saturday? Go and build on it again.” But they must have that winning mentality, and I think we’ve got it.”