Kid Kelleher the Kop hero in the Carabao Cup once again!
Liverpool 0 Derby County 0, 9th November 2022.
Liverpool 0 Derby County 0, 9th November 2022.
LIVERPOOL 0 (3)
DERBY COUNTY 0 (2)
Liverpool win 3–2 on penalties after 90 minutes.
In truth, last night’s 3rd Round Carabao League Cup tie at a full to the brim Anfield was a drab affair akin to a fast paced practice match. Jurgen Klopp changed the entire starting XI roster, blending the experience of Joe Gomez (captain for the evening) and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain with periphery yet important squad players Kostas Tsimikas, Nat Phillips and Fabio Carvalho with more crucial playing minutes for right back Calvin Ramsay following his return from injury as well as the youthful exuberance of Bobby Clark, Stefan Bajcetic, Melkamu Frauendorf. Manager Klopp also gave an Anfield debut to locally born central striker Layton Rhys Stewart as well as giving the 16 year old Ben Doak an early 17th birthday present with 15 Anfield minutes as a second half substitute.
Behind this youthful team stood the night’s eventual hero and the Reds goalkeeping hero when they defeated Chelsea in a penalty shoot-out in last season’s final at Wembley to lift the Carabao League Cup, 23 year old Irishman Caoimhin Kelleher. The Reds popular backup goalkeeper saved fellow Irishman Conor Hourihane’s penalty before saving Craig Forsyth’s penalty (see headline image) and with the score level at 2–2 in the penalty shoot-out, Kelleher brilliantly saved Lewis Dobbin’s fifth and final Derby County penalty, leaving the stage clear for Harvey Elliott to score the Reds winning penalty, steering the holders into the 4th Round. But only just.
Following a drab and one paced 0–0 draw over the 90 minutes, David McGoldrick put the visitors 1–0 up in the resultant penalty shoot-out before Derby goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith saved the Reds first penalty from Stefan Bajcetic. The penalty should have been retaken as Wildsmith was way off his goal line, however Kelleher immediately saved Hourihane’s penalty before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain levelled the scores. Kelleher saved Forsyth’s penalty but Roberto Firmino blazed his penalty high over the bar before both Louie Sibley for Derby and Darwin Nunez for Liverpool scored their respective penalties, setting up Kelleher’s wonderful one handed save from Dobbin and Elliott’s decisive and winning penalty for a 3–2 penalty shoot-out win.
Whilst the regulation 90 minutes of football was a largely forgettable affair, to lose on penalties was more than a little unfair on a plucky Derby County currently in 7th place in League 1 and fully 44 places below the Reds on the English football ladder. I was particularly impressed with their midfield anchor of the aforementioned Conor Hourihane and Max Bird, as well as the speed on the break of Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, but their sporadic counter attacks rarely posed a goal scoring problem for Kelleher in the Liverpool goal before his heroics in the shoot-out.
Huge positives for the Reds:
Still in every competition they entered at the start of the season and attacking on all four fronts come the resumption of the English season following the World Cup.
Caoimhin Kelleher retains a happy knack for keeping clean sheets, performing well and winning penalty shoot-out competitions!
Nat Phillips was superb next to a secure performance from Joe Gomez.
Stefan Bajcetic has a touch (and only a touch) of the Barcelona holding midfielder Sergio Busquets. Simple, unhurried, a barrier in front of the defence and looking for that incisive progressive pass forward. The Spaniard could be a rough diamond being polished for the future.
Bobby Clark was busy and active in the first half before he tired, and conversely, Melkamu Frauendorf seemed to grow into the game in the second half.
Layton Rhys Stewart was neat and tidy in his central striking role and although he fluffed his only half chance of the evening, the 20 year old will benefit enormously from his 65 minutes under the Anfield lights.
The Reds 4th round opponents will be known following the conclusion of the 3rd round tomorrow night but of more pressing concern is Saturday’s clash with Southampton and the final Premier League game before the early shutdown of the league before the ludicrously scheduled World Cup. Saturday’s battle with the Saints of Southampton is a must win game even so early in a stop/start season and the visitors will have the intangible edge of a “New Manager Bounce” due to the appointment today of Nathan Jones.
See you Saturday!
Thanks for reading. My Liverpool FC archives contain a wealth of articles past, present and often personal, or you can find the three most recently published articles on their season hence far linked below:
Salah at the double to defeat a woeful Spurs. Reds climb to 8th.
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Liverpool 2, 6th November 2022.medium.com
VAR to the rescue as the Reds await the cream of Europe in the New Year
Liverpool 2 Napoli 0, 1st November 2022.medium.com
Birthday boy Summerville stuns The Kop as an energetic Leeds are far too good for a woeful Reds
Liverpool 1 Leeds United 2, 29th October 2022.medium.com