Keyrol Figueroa continued his impressive form with a hat-trick as Liverpool under-18s ended their long wait for a league victory.
Figueroa notched his treble inside 13 first-half minutes as the young Reds earned a 3-0 win over 10-man Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Academy in Kirkby on Saturday afternoon.
The 16-year-old forward, who is the son of former Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, has now scored four goals and contributed two assists in his first three starts since his full U18 Premier League North debut last month, having returned from the CONCACAF U17 Championship where he netted seven times in as many games in helping the United States reach the final.
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The win edged Marc Bridge-Wilkinson's side away from the foot of the table and earned their first triumph in the competition in 12 games, a run stretching back to October.
Figueroa opened the scoring in the 16th minute when he accepted a pass from Jayden Danns and ran through to finish beyond Wolves goalkeeper Stan Amos. He scored again five minutes later with a header from a Michael Laffey corner, and completed his hat-trick shortly before the half-hour when a poor Amos clearance landed at his feet and allowed him to tap into an empty net.
Wolves struck the woodwork twice before the break but the game was effectively over when visiting midfielder Testimony Igbinoghene was dismissed for a high challenge on Laffey shortly after the interval.
Liverpool are next in U18 Premier League North action on Tuesday week at Newcastle United (kick-off 11am).
LIVERPOOL U18s: Mrozek; Davidson (Roberts 87), Furnell-Gill, Pitt, Scanlon; Kelly (Osborne 70), Laffey, Onanuga; Figueroa (Gift 75), Koumas, Danns. Subs Hewitson, Hayes-Green. BOOKING: Furnell-Gill.
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