Academy column: A proud night at the Kop for Sheyi and Joao
In this week's Academy column, U21s boss Michael Beale speaks of his pride at seeing Sheyi Ojo and Joao Carlos Teixeira score in front of the Kop and looks forward to two matches in the space of a week against Tottenham Hotspur and Reading.
It was a brilliant and immensely proud night for the Academy on Wednesday when a lot of our younger players impressed for the first team on the big stage of Anfield in the FA Cup third-round replay with Exeter City. For the current staff at the Academy and indeed some of the previous staff who have worked with these boys on their journey so far, I thought it was fantastic to see the lads all involved. The team dominated from start to finish and I thought the senior players in Jose Enrique, Joe Allen and Simon Mignolet were very good in the help they gave to the young players. Jose has been out for so long, so for him to be made captain was a great moment for him. There were some really strong performances in front of a fantastic crowd at Anfield who were cheering the lads on. From the people sitting alongside me in the Main Stand I could see they were really excited to see the young lads get a chance, and overall it was a fantastic night for everybody.
It was a fantastic moment when Jon Flanagan made his entrance and the standing ovation he got said it all. Jon had only played 30 minutes and two 45-minute outings for the U21s and it was brilliant to have him back involved with us. Jon is a great lad, a great player and he has been missed. Hopefully, he can push on now and stay injury-free because he has worked so hard to get back.
I thought Cameron Brannagan was excellent in the middle of the park alongside Kevin Stewart. We have seen that type of display from Cameron for the U21s for probably the last three seasons now. He is our captain at U21 level and I thought in the second half especially he dominated the midfield, passed the ball very well and was unfortunate not to score. There is still a lot more to come from Cameron, we think, as he develops his game, but it was a very good performance from him on the evening.
It was also fantastic to see all three of the goals have an Academy feel to it. For the opening goal, Brad Smith was the provider and he’s making a nice habit of that at the moment. He produced that fantastic assist for Divock Origi down at Southampton in the Capital One Cup and he then did one at Anfield for Joe Allen’s strike. Brad, of course, scored the equaliser in the first game and he can be really pleased with the impact he is making at first-team level.
Sheyi Ojo’s goal was a great moment for the lad and he has worked very hard to get to that moment. He has had a couple of loan spells with Wigan Athletic and Wolves which I think have helped him greatly. He’s come back now and he’s made a bit of an impact. He is still only 18 and he got an assist in the first game at Exeter on his debut, and then scores a goal of that quality on his Anfield debut. To score in front of the Kop is what all of our young players dream of doing, and it was, to be honest, a trademark Sheyi goal. We’ve seen him do that on a number of occasions at Academy level from the U16 team onwards, so to see him do that at first-team level was a very sweet moment. We were very pleased for Sheyi.
Joao Carlos Teixeira then wrapped up the night with a goal in front of the Kop. Of course, it wasn’t the first time Joao has netted in front of the famous end, because he did that for Sporting Lisbon against Liverpool in 2012. I thought Joao had a really good game and he can very pleased with the outing. I thought he worked really hard and it was a lovely finish. I had no doubt that when he got the ball it would end up in the back of the net. He has come a long way in his journey because like all journeys there’s lots of bumps in the road. Joao had a great season at Brighton last season and then he broke his leg. He has done so well to come back from that and I think he has made a good impact whenever he has played in the first team this season.
At U21 level we have started 2016 very well with a couple of great victories away at Southampton and Leeds in the Barclays U21 Premier League Cup. After a break between fixtures we now have two games in the space of a week coming up. We return to Chester FC’s Lookers Vauxhall Stadium for the match with Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night, before returning next Sunday to host Reading. It’s an exciting week ahead for the supporters because we also have the first team involved in two big cup games and Neil Critchley’s side are in action on Wednesday night when they play Cardiff in the FA Youth Cup at Prenton Park. We have played Tottenham and Reading already this season and only got one point when we feel we should have got all six.
The 1-1 draw with Tottenham down at Stevenage was memorable for our Academy Goal of the Season so far with Matty Virtue’s spectacular strike. It was an outstanding goal. Tottenham are a very good side under the command of Ugo Ehiogu and we have had some fantastic games with them in recent years. We produced an outstanding performance against them at White Hart Lane last season when Samed Yesil got a couple of goals. Tottenham are a team I respect greatly. I think their Academy is a very good one so we will have to be at our very best on Monday.