As well as the first team being hard at work building up to the season opener against Watford on the 8th, the Under 21’s have also been put through their paces, taking part in eight pre-season fixtures and winning seven of them. Their first fixture was a 3-1 win at Burscough, which they followed up with a 3-2 victory at Wrexham, and then a trip to the Emerald Isle where they beat Bohemians 2-1 and Glenavon 3-1. Next, two victories against Rhyl, which ended 3-0, and a 3-2 defeat of Southport, which set the Blues up with seven wins from seven games.
But could the Blues take the short trip through the Mersey tunnel against Tranmere Rovers?
Unfortunately it wasn’t to be and they went down 3-1. In truth, it seemed that the it was one game too many for the youngsters. Overall, however, it was a very impressive pre-season for the young Blues and one that will hopefully stand them in good stead for their first game of the season away at Tottenham Hotspur on the 10th, and then a mini-derby at home nine days later.
The standout performers for the Blues have been players such as David Henen, who helped the other players with his experience he gained from training with the first team last summer, and Gethin Jones who has shown what he is made of last season by training with the Welsh national team leading up the country’s victory over Belgium. Other notable performers have been Matthew Pennington, Liam Walsh, Connor Grant– who scored a very well-taken goal against Southport- and Ryan Ledson, who took on the captains armband and led by example when he played. One last mention for left-back Antonee Robinson who was a surprise inclusion in the first teams Barclays Asia Cup squad.
All in all, it’s clear to see the youngsters making progress under Unsworth’s tutelage.
