PreviewHow 'unique' Wembley experience can inspire Liverpool's Academy in FA Youth Cup and beyond
Marc Bridge-Wilkinson has shared the sense of pride at the Academy after a host of youngsters played their part in Liverpool’s Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea.
U18s manager Bridge-Wilkinson was at Wembley with his team last Sunday to cheer on the Reds, who won 1-0 thanks to Virgil van Dijk’s header deep into extra-time.
Bobby Clark, Jayden Danns, James McConnell and Jarell Quansah all came off the bench as Jürgen Klopp handed several of the club’s youth products the chance to shine at the highest level.
Tonight, the U18s take on Leeds United at Elland Road in the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup – and you can watch the tie live on LFCTV and LFCTV GO here (UK only).
The young Reds will be aiming to continue their fine form in the competition, with Fleetwood Town, Arsenal and Fulham having been beaten en route to the last eight.
Read Bridge-Wilkinson’s quarter-final preview with Liverpoolfc.com below.
On an unforgettable day at Wembley…
It was amazing! It was fantastic to see, not just the level of game the boys got on in, it was great for everyone at the Academy to see boys getting their chance and an opportunity and finding a way to help the team win the game. We took a lot of the U16s with us and the U18s went to watch. It was quite a unique day, to be honest, with everyone watching and all the younger boys getting a chance and their opportunity to play. It was just brilliant.
On his emotions on the final whistle…
Pride, really. Pride that we are seeing so many boys getting their opportunity and taking it. Pride in the fact that you know all the hard work that has gone in over the years and the work that has gone into helping those boys. Pride for the lads as well, to see them go and do what they did for their families and for themselves. It was just a really special day for everyone.
On the journeys the players have been on…
James McConnell, for example, was in the U18s team at the start of last season, Jayden Danns was a regular with us at U18 level until about three weeks ago when he stepped up to the U21s. It’s amazing. Dannsy nearly scored as well, on more than one occasion. I was jumping up thinking it was going in!
On the U18s’ trip to Morocco last week…
We always like to take our players out of their comfort zone and introduce them to new experiences, so we were invited to an U19 tournament in Morocco. It was a fantastic tournament with brilliant hosts and brilliant facilities, and amazing opposition that we played against: teams from South America, Africa, Europe and Asia.
It was a really top tournament and a great experience for the boys. It was tough because obviously the first team ended up so young, so they took quite a few players we thought would come with us. So, we ended up taking a few of the U16 lads, but it was a great experience for everyone and it was just topped off with us coming back on Saturday and then going to Wembley to watch the final and seeing the boys get on.
On the challenge posed by Leeds in the Youth Cup tie…
Leeds are a good side. We are expecting it to be tough and it’s not going to be all our own way, I’m convinced of that, so we will set the boys up the best that we can to go and impact our game on them and try to nullify theirs on us.
We don’t know at this moment in time what the team will be and we don’t know who we will have available, so it’s going to be quite a late decision on that. Ultimately whoever plays has got a great opportunity to go and showcase themselves and the team that we put out to go and play a really good game. I’m sure that whoever wears the shirt, they won’t need any motivation to go and play well.
On the development of Trent Kone-Doherty, who has been a key figure during the cup run so far…
Trent has done really well. He still has lots to do, like all of the players, but he has obviously been in good form for us. He is playing predominantly with the U21s at the minute and has the odd game for us. It’s really good for him and his development and he is coming on leaps and bounds. He is a good boy, he works hard and wants to improve all the time. Like a lot of the players, we have a lot of hope for him.
On the extra motivation Sunday’s experience will give the young players…
Definitely it will give them hope. There should be a belief there that these boys know they are at a club where they will get an opportunity. If they perform, perform well and continue to improve then this manager above anybody else is willing to throw these young boys on. As he proved on Sunday in any moment of any game, he has no fear in playing these young boys, so they should feel good, they should feel like they’ve got a real opportunity to flourish at this football club. It’s a case of giving it everything you have got in every game and see where it takes you.
On the feel-good factor at the Academy…
There’s no two ways about it, the buzz amongst the staff and amongst the players is there for everyone to see. To see so many of the Academy players involved in a cup final at Wembley for Liverpool in front of 88,000 people is unique, it’s amazing, and it can’t help but go some way to give these boys a lot of belief that there is a chance for them.
- Watch Liverpool's FA Youth Cup quarter-final against Leeds United at Elland Road (7pm GMT kick-off) live on LFCTV and LFCTV GO here (UK only) tonight.