Rossiter and Williams: The Academy reaction
Liverpool U21s host Manchester City at the Kirkby Academy on Thursday night with coach Michael Beale insisting there is a real buzz in the air among the youngsters after seeing Jordan Rossiter and Jordan Williams make their first-team debuts.
Rossiter made it a dream bow when he netted against Middlesbrough after just 10 minutes at Anfield on Tuesday night, and Williams also produced an impressive appearance off the bench in the thrilling Capital One Cup victory.
"The Academy was buzzing on Wednesday morning and it was a great place to be at," Beale explained to Liverpoolfc.com.
"When Rossiter scored, we were jumping about in the stand. It was fantastic to see him get a goal and he did ever so well.
"Williams has come back from an horrific knee injury and he deserves huge credit for the work he has done and he thoroughly deserved the chance against Middlesbrough.
"He is such a versatile player and it was fantastic to see him get on and score a penalty in front of the Kop.
"The belief the manager shares in our young players is brilliant and for everyone at the Academy it is a fantastic feeling.
"We saw Sheyi Ojo and Kevin Stewart warming up with the first team on Tuesday night in front of the Kop, Jerome Sinclair did that recently as well, and it is great for them to experience that."
Beale's charges have not played since September 12 when they produced a fantastic performance to beat West Ham United 4-0 at Upton Park.
Tonight, under the Kirkby floodlights at 7pm BST, they host Patrick Vieira's City and Beale admits the youngsters can't wait to get back on the pitch again.
He added: "We haven't played for three weeks and we can't wait to get back out there. I have been ever so pleased with how the lads have done so far this season and we want to continue the good work on Thursday night.
"Vieira is an icon of the Premier League and someone a lot of our players look up to as a former World Cup winner. It will be nice for me to share a dugout with someone like that."