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.
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.
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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.
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.