The FA Youth Cup sponsored by E.ON
Fifth Round Proper
Anfield, Liverpool FC
7pm, Thursday 5 February 2009
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David Amoo’s first-half header ensured that Liverpool’s affinity with The FA Youth Cup continued and kept alive the Anfield side’s hopes of winning the trophy for the third time in four seasons.
Facing a highly-rated Chelsea side that boasted no less than six different nationalities in their starting line-up, it was poignant that it should be Liverpool’s London-born Amoo, who began his career at Chelsea’s London neighbours Millwall, who halted the capital’s side's progression in the competition to send Hughie McAuley’s young guns into the Quarter Final and a tie against Bolton Wanderers.
As arctic temperatures descended on Merseyside and a first appearance for many on the hallowed Anfield turf, the young starlets on both sides could have been excused for freezing in the early exchanges of this highly anticipated tie.
However, neither side showed any signs of nerves in a lively opening period, which saw Chelsea quickly establish their slick passing rhythm, with the midfield duo of Jacob Mellis and Daniel Philliskirk particularly enjoying the pristine Anfield playing surface with their incisive and probing passing.
But as Dermot Drummy’s Chelsea side failed to convert their patient build-up play into goalscoring chances, it always looked like the home side’s more direct and quicker approach would break the deadlock. Throughout the evening, Amoo’s pace down Liverpool’s right provided the home side with an outlet for the clever passing of midfielder Adam Pepper and it was these two Englishmen who combined to give the Reds the lead.
Pepper’s pinpoint cross from the left allowed Amoo to show he is just as adept in the air as he is on the ground, with the tall winger rising the highest in a packed penalty area to leave Niclas Heimann in the Chelsea goal no chance with a header from six yards.
Amoo had a glorious opportunity to double his tally moments later when he pinched the ball from the feet of Chelsea’s Dutch defender Jeffrey Bruma Van Homoet, leaving him with a clear run on goal, only to scuff his shot at the near post with the goal at the Kop end gaping.
As the night’s events unfolded, Amoo could have added more goals to his name but was let down by some wayward finishing. The youngster was nearly made to rue his missed chances when Chelsea’s French starlet Gael Kakuta, who was lively throughout, thought he’d grabbed an equaliser for the away side in the second half. The striker pounced on a parry by Dean Bouzanis in the Liverpool goal after a shot by Italian striker Fabio Borini, only for his strike to be ruled out for offside.
Chelsea’s assortment of foreign talent showed no little effort or endeavour throughout the remainder of the second period but found Liverpool’s defensive ranks, expertly marshaled by skipper Joe Kennedy (left) and central defensive partner Daniel Ayala, in no mood for surrendering their clean sheet.
The competition which launched the career of Liverpool legends Michael Owen and Jamie Carragher proved once again to favour the Merseyside club as they held on for a well-deserved victory.
With a tie against north-west opponents Bolton Wanderers at Anfield in the next round, McAuley will be hoping that one of the current crop will step forward into the spotlight.
Speaking after the game, the Liverpool coach told TheFA.com that he was particularly impressed with the way his central defensive pairing coped with the pressure of the occasion.
“Our centre-backs we’re under pressure from start to finish, and I thought Joe Kennedy and Daniel Ayala we’re superb for us and defended excellently,” he said.
“It's quite nerve-wracking for a lot of these players, playing at Anfield for the first time, and I thought they did tremendously well. Being under the spotlight for 90 minutes with the crowd and with the senior management here, I thought, by and large, most of the lads coped with it all quite well.”
Liverpool
1 Dean Bouzanis, 2 Andre Wisdom, 3 Christopher Buchtmann, 4 Daniel Ayala, 5 Joe Kennedy (c), 6 Steven Irwin, 7 David Amoo, 8 Adam Pepper (12 Alexander Kacaniklic, 74), 9 Lauri Dalla Valle, 10 Thomas Ince, 11 Nathan Eccleston
Subs not used
13 Deale Chamberlain, 14 Jack Metcalf, 15 Michael Roberts, 16 James Ellison
Chelsea
1 Niclas Heimann, 2 Nikki Ahamed, 3 Rohan Ince (16 Marko Mitrovic, 85), 4 Jeffrey Bruma Van Homoet, 5 Benjamin Gordon (14 Adam Phillip, 44), 6 Jacob Mellis (Connor Clifford, 70), 7 Jacopo Sala, 8 Daniel Philliskirk (c), 9 Fabio Borini, 10 Gael Kakuta, 11 Frank Nouble.
Subs not used
13 Jan Sebek, 15 Joshua McEachran
Match Officials
Referee: J G Adcock
Assistants: A Moore & S Durbin
Fourth Official: P Graham
Attendance: 2,193
