Beaglehole: Second Half Performance Cost Us

But Liverpool rallied and got themselves level just before the hour mark through Dan Cleary’s header at the back post. 

And inspired by their equaliser, the Reds went on to win the match through skipper Cameron Brannagan, who hammered in from distance past an unsighted Ben Hamer. 

Reflecting on the defeat, Beaglehole told Foxes Player: “We were excellent in the first half and we dictated the play. We sussed out their shape and we should have been more than 1-0 up at half-time. Joe’s header to put us in front was fantastic. 

“We said after the break that they’ll come at us, and they did. We talked about managing the game and keeping a clean sheet, but we didn’t do that. 

“I’m disappointed with their goals. The first one was a header at the back post, and the player should have been picked up better. 

“For the second goal the ball was punched out by Ben Hamer, and we were slow to press them. We should have pressed the ball and we should have got out quicker. That’s what we’ll work on, because we were sloppy.” 

City played 120 minutes in their Premier League International Cup defeat to Manchester City on Thursday – something that Beaglehole believes may have impacted his side’s ability to reproduce their first half performance in the second period against Liverpool. 

He added: “We dictated the first half but they dictated the middle of the park in the second half. We didn’t get to grips with them after half-time, and consequently, the teams that lose out in the middle of the park get punished, and that’s what’s happened. 

“Without making excuses, I thought we looked a bit jaded towards the end. We had some tired legs out there with the extra-time that we played. 

“We’ve had a number of games recently in a short spell of time, so perhaps tiredness, mentally and physically, took its toll.”