Liverpool ignore Arsenal red card as Ben Doak…

Liverpool ignore Arsenal red card as Ben Doak replacement continues scoring run

Layton Stewart continued his comeback by coming off the bench to score a late winner for Liverpool in a dramatic Premier League 2 clash at Arsenal.

Stewart, who was sidelined for several months through injury, struck with five minutes remaining as the under-21 side overcame a second-half red card to earn a 1-0 triumph at Meadow Park on Monday night.

The result moves Liverpool up to third in the standings and followed their 7-1 thrashing of Leicester City last time out.

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Barry Lewtas's side had been reduced to 10 men nine minutes after the interval when centre-back Lee Jonas was dismissed for denying Arsenal's Mauro Bandeira a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Arsenal had the better chances of a tight first half, with Liverpool goalkeeper Marcelo Pitaluga making a fine save to deny Matt Smith and later Amario Cozier-Duberry, while the visitors saw Billy Koumetio send a header over the crossbar.

The Reds were on the defensive for much of the second half following the red card for Jonas, with the busy Pitaluga denying Smith again before Charlos Sagoe Jr had a shot blocked.

And that allowed Stewart, who had replaced Ben Doak with 18 minutes remaining, to notch his eighth goal in 10 Premier League 2 outings this season by snatching the winner in the 85th minute when converteding a pass from Owen Beck.

“It was a great win for us and I was proud of the lads, especially after going down to 10 men,” Lewtas told Liverpoolfc.com. “The lads stuck together and, in the end, we did what we had to do.

“It was great to see Layton get the winner for us. We had planned to get him on the pitch a little bit earlier but the red card disrupted that. It was a fantastic goal, a lovely pass, great movement from Layton and he stuck it away.

“We are trying to get him back up to full speed again after he picked up a knock before Christmas. But he is someone who knows where the goal is and he is a real threat for us.”

Liverpool are next in Premier League 2 action on Saturday when they travel to Chelsea (kick-off 12pm).

LIVERPOOL U21s (4-3-3): Pitaluga; Stephenson, Jonas, Koumetio, Beck; Corness, Clark, Frauendorf; Doak (Stewart 72), Woltman (Miles 90+5), Musialowski (Norris 60). Sub: Kelly. BOOKINGS: Corness, Stephenson. SENDING-OFF: Jonas.

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