Liverpool Futsal Club were swept aside by an emphatic Hartpury as their ambitions of climbing up the National Series table took a huge blow, writes Sam Hackett at the National Cycling Centre.
The 10-3 scoreline makes it The Reds’ joint heaviest defeat of the season, against an opponent they started the day two positions ahead of in the Tier one table.
The result means Liverpool remain on 10 points after nine games, with their opponents now just one point behind them with a game in hand.
It felt like a lifetime ago by the end, but it was the hosts who took the lead midway through the first half. A quick counter-attack against the run of play was finished off by Nathan Millar – a rare moment of quality on a bleak afternoon for Liverpool.
The visitor’s dominance was soon rewarded with a quick-fire double that turned the game on its head. Dylan Malpas and Felipe Barcelos were the beneficiaries of two well worked team goals that saw the momentum of the match shift.
It was another brace of goals just before the break that took the game away from the hosts. Gustavo Totti tapped into an empty net, before moments later Jack Morgan calmly slotted past a helpless Tom Blake. Two contrasting team talks were required as the half-time whistle blew.
Things went from bad to worse for Liverpool early in the second half. Their aggressive approach to try and get back in the game backfired when goalkeeper Rhys Crowther was caught high up the pitch, giving Jack Tysom the opportunity to find an empty net from his own half.
However, Crowther went from villain to hero moments later, with the aggressive “fly keeper” approach allowing him to get on the scoresheet to give the hosts a lifeline and make it 5-2.
To the home crowd’s disappointment, that joy was short-lived as Wojciech Poplawski’s side turned the screw with five more second half goals, while Liverpool only managed to reply with one more of their own.
The pick of the bunch came from Morgan who finished off a fantastic team move to grab his second of the game. It was a much-needed brace after failing to score in his previous five appearances.
Hartpury will be hoping that their third win of the campaign can provide momentum to continue to pull away from the relegation zone and improve on last season’s 7th place finish.
As for Liverpool, the challenges aren’t getting any easier as they head to league leaders Bolton next week in the hope of getting their season back on track.
