Josh Sonni-Lambie was on the scoresheet for the young Reds when he netted an equaliser – but the hosts claimed victory with a goal right at the end of the contest.
Marc Bridge-Wilkinson’s side now turn their focus towards the start of their U18 Premier League North campaign against Derby County next weekend.
The U18s boss told Liverpoolfc.com: “Today’s game was a good test. Reading were a good side and I think they definitely edged the first half and were probably a bit better than us in the first period.
“Second half, I thought we were a lot better. The game was 1-1 until the final sort of minute and then they kind of caught us in midfield and broke on us and managed to get a winner in the last minute of the game, which was a bit frustrating.
“Performance-wise, I thought we were good – good in the first period, very good in the second. But obviously we’re just disappointed to lose the game.
“We’ve done a lot of work through the last five or six weeks of pre-season, which we’re really pleased with. The season starts in earnest next week in terms of the league fixtures and we’re looking forward to it.”