Squires Gate 0 City of Liverpool 3: Leaders complete a quickfire double

Ric Seear had a quiet afternoon Picture: Albert Cooper

Craig Cairns and Karl Clair struck before the break for Craig Robinson’s side and a second Cairns goal 10 minutes into the second half wrapped up the win for the away side.

Manager Andy Clarkson made one change to his side with Adam Sumner coming into the defence to replace Seydou Bamba.

Gate’s first chance came after three minutes when keeper Morgan Bacon scuffed his clearance straight to James Boyd, who aimed for the empty net but shot just wide.

The visitors took the lead soon after as Cairns found it too easy to get in behind the defence and round Ben Fletcher to score.

Pressure started to build and it eventually saw the Purps double their lead when a shot hit the post and Clair tapped home as Gate were looking for an offside flag.

Gate had probably their best chance straight from the kick-off when Riccardo Egidi broke through but fired over.

Trailing 2-0 at half-time, Gate conceded a third shortly after the restart when a long ball found Cairns.

Dave Rossall slipped and his centre-back partner Ben Reader slid in trying to win the ball but Cairns avoided both and beat Fletcher for the second time.

Egidi had a tame shot easily gathered by the keeper on the hour before Clarkson introduced teenager Oliver Burgess for the final 20 minutes.

The 16-year-old almost made an instant impact but saw his shot blocked with Sumner firing the loose ball wide.

The loss for Gate leaves them 10th in the league on 35 points ahead of Saturday’s home game against a resurgent Abbey Hey side.

Squires Gate: Fletcher, Gray, Rossall, Reader, Sumner, Staunton-Turner, Charnley, Riley, Boyd, Seear, Egidi. Subs: Bamba, Ing, Mullen, Clarkson, Burgess.