What happened
Gareth Taylor’s side shared the spoils in their latest Under-18s Premier League outing away at Blackburn.
Cole Palmer continued his excellent recent form by levelling for the young Blues early in the second half after Vilius Piliukaitis had given the hosts the lead three minutes after the restart.
Despite battling against the elements in the first half, playing into a ferocious wind, and also seeing defender Ryan Corrigan stretchered off after sustaining a worrying-looking injury which led to 12 minutes of first-half stoppage time, City carved out a succession of chances but couldn’t make the breakthrough.
And after a mix-up in the Blues’ defence, Rovers took the lead against the run of play when Vilius Piliukaitis beat keeper Cieran Slicker on 49 minutes.
However, within five minutes City had deservedly drawn level, Cole Palmer finishing smartly after a fine assist by D’Margio Wright-Phillips.
But despite looking the far more dangerous side – City had five shots on target and 10 in total in contrast to Blackburn’s tally of two and five respectively - and maintaining solid second-half pressure, Taylor’s side ultimately had to settle for a point.
How we lined up
Starting XI: Slicker, Sobowale, Robinson, Amankwah, Corrigan, Fiorini, Wright-Phillips, F Dele-Bashiru, Ogunby, Palmer, Braaf
Subs: Egan-Riley, Midgley, McAtee, Bellis, Ohio
What it means
City are fifth in the U18s Premier League North, on nine points from eight games. The Under-18s are next in league action on October 27 when we travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
