A young group of ball-boys taken from Liverpool’s academy had the honour of parading the Carabao Cup trophy around the pitch before this match as Anfield celebrated an unforgettable triumph.
Those 12-year-olds, though, were too young even for this makeshift Reds side.
But if the last fortnight has done one thing, it is to make those kids believe that, with hard work and perseverance, they too will don the red Liverpool shirt at grand stadiums from Anfield to Wembley and have their chance to carve a piece of Reds history.
After a handful of teenagers did just that in the Cup final last week, which Jurgen Klopp described as his most ‘special’ achievement in two decades of management, last night it was Lewis Koumas’s turn to see his dreams come true.
Koumas did not just make his Liverpool debut but scored the opening goal of a game which threatened to be a banana skin against a well-coached Southampton side, as Klopp’s men set up a mouthwatering quarter-final clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Lewis Koumas scored on his debut to put Liverpool ahead just before half-time
Koumas’ shot from 20 yards wrong-footed Southampton goalkeeper Joe Lumley
Almost like a fairytale film, more dreams kept coming true for kids at Anfield as Jayden Danns came off the bench in the second half and scored 11 minutes later with a fancy chip to put this tie to bed, before Trey Nyoni, just 16, made his Liverpool bow.
Just a fortnight ago, eight of Liverpool’s matchday squad were playing together in front of just 169 punters in an Under 21s game against Stoke at the AXA Training Centre. It has been some whirlwind for the Reds’ youngsters who have suddenly been thrown in at the deep end.
But Sunday’s Carabao Cup triumph at Wembley showed they are more than capable of keeping afloat, and some of those who made impressive cameos against Chelsea were rewarded with starting berths here, such as midfielders Bobby Clark and James McConnell.
Six of Liverpool’s XI were aged 21 or younger for this visit of Southampton who themselves made eight changes, with the Kindergarten Kop’s latest graduate being the young forward Lewis Koumas, who has scored 12 goals in 15 youth games this term.
Wales Under 19 international Koumas – like Clark whose father Lee, a Newcastle legend, was up in the stands watching on – has a famous former footballer as a dad. Ex-Cardiff and Wigan midfielder Jason lives a quiet life since his retirement, unlike his son who made a noise all night.
Jayden Danns scored twice in the second-half to seal victory at Anfield on Wednesday night
Danns burst through and dinked the ball over Lumley for the second goal in the 73rd minute
Koumas was the pick of the bunch of the Liverpool colts here, even before his goal to open the scoring on the stroke of half-time, with a livewire performance on the left wing.
Like many young forwards, he tried to make something happen every time the ball came out to him.
After some tricky darts into the penalty area resulted in nothing, Koumas got the moment he had probably been dreaming of every week since joining the Reds from Tranmere aged 11 when his shot from 20 yards wrong-footed Saints keeper Joe Lumley.
It was not lost that the man to tee him up for that goal was Clark, a year older than 18-year-old Koumas but a long-term team-mate of the Chester-born star. The pair combined again minutes later and Koumas nearly poked through Cody Gakpo but the Dutchman’s finish was poor.
Until that flurry at the end of the first half, though, the Championship side were well in the ascendancy.
Saints had the ball in the net with less than 40 seconds on the clock and, though it was flagged for offside and ruled out, that set the tempo for much of the early exchanges.
With star man Adam Armstrong, who boasts 16 goals and 11 assists in the second tier, starting the match on the bench along with many senior colleagues, Russell Martin’s side were often left ruing a lack of end product as they carved Liverpool open numerous times.
Danns sealed an emphatic victory for the home side with the third goal in the 88th minute
Koumas was embraced by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp after his impressive debut
Ghanaian winger Kamaldeen Sulemana, the fastest player at the 2022 World Cup according to sprint speed data, exploited space in behind the Reds back line and hit the post after five minutes, before Sekou Mara was denied by Cup final hero Caoimhin Kelleher three times.
But Saints’ heavily-changed team faded in the second half and Liverpool only looked like extending their lead, which is what they did on 73 minutes when Danns burst through and dinked the ball over Lumley.
The son of former Premier League footballer Neil, who is now assistant manager at local League Two side Tranmere, then added his second to round off an evening of proud moments.on 88 minutes with a poachers’ finish after Conor Bradley’s shot was parried.
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