Simon Wiles’ side – who were watched by senior captain Virgil van Dijk – began the second period well and a fine pass slid in behind by Erik Farkas had Bradshaw’s eyes lighting up.
Bradshaw held off his marker and fired in a low finish that Boro goalkeeper Trystan Hounsell reacted well to, diving to halt.
A slick, short-passing move from the Reds almost resulted in a deficit-reducer but the final ball unfortunately got stuck under Hickman’s feet when free in the middle.
Kakai shot straight at Wright from a good position at one end. At the other, O’Connor hit the side-netting having been teed up nicely by Isaac Konde.
Persistently a threatening presence for Boro to deal with, Bradshaw was again foiled by a Hounsell save after bringing down a long pass and attacking the area.
Five minutes from the end, Zak Coxon skipped free down the right and lofted in a great delivery for an unmarked La’more Lee Forrester, who could not keep his header down.
Wright then added another impressive stop to his performance to prevent Harrison netting a third for the away team yards out.
Liverpool finally got the goal their efforts merited two minutes into added time. Lee Forrester got in behind and rattled the post, with O’Connor on hand to scoop in the loose ball.
But with mere minutes remaining in the game, a full comeback was out of reach.
**Team**
Liverpool: M. Wright, O’Connor, Owen, Cisse (Ayman, 18 (Lee Forrester, 64)), Clarke, Murray-Holme, Farkas, Upton, Bradshaw (Coxon, 75), Hickman, Konde (Huth, 70).
Unused sub: Hilditch.
**Next up**
The U18s’ competitive campaign will conclude next Saturday (May 9) with a league trip to Derby County.
Kick-off at Derby’s academy will be 12pm BST.