Proud Reds
Critchley hails Anfield kids despite Villa thrashing
LIVERPOOL U-23s coach Neil Critchley praised his young side despite suffering a 5-0 defeat at the hands of Aston Villa to exit the Carabao Cup quarterfinals.
A Jonathan Kodjia double added to Conor Hourihane’s opener and an own-goal from Morgan Boyes to give Villa a healthy 4-0 halftime lead, which was added to by Wesley’s second half injury-time goal.
Liverpool were without their entire first-team senior squad due to their participation in the Club World Cup.
It resulted in Critchley having to steer his young side with an average age of 19 years, six months and three days through the quarterfinal clash, though despite the scoreline the academy coach believed they could leave Villa Park with their heads held high.
“I thought we were magnificent. We were fantastic from the start, we had a couple of chances from the first whistle,” Critchley said.
“We were really unfortunate to concede and then find ourselves 2-0 down. It was an incredible night and no-one wanted it to end. The support we had was unbelievable.
“Some of them showed the potential to one day play for us, or in the Premier League. They will know it was just part of their journey. My overwhelming feeling is one of immense pride.”
Critchley also revealed that Villa boss Dean Smith and his assistant John Terry came into the Liverpool dressing room at the end of the match.
“The conduct of the Villa players was first class. For Dean Smith and John Terry to come in to our dressing room after the game and say the things they said…
They said ‘keep going, good luck’ and wished us the best. A moment I will remember and the players will remember for the rest of their lives.
“They said how difficult we made it for them and that we have some good players,” Critchley added.
Villa midfielder
Hourihane was pleased to come through a “loselose” game on the winning side and book a semifinal berth.
“It was not easy. They are a young team and they would have been bang up for it but our quality came on in the end,” he told Sky Sports.
“It was lose-lose as everyone expected us to win. All in all it’s nice to get through. It’s great to get into the semifinal. We’ll see who we get.”
It was a good night for Villa’s £11 million (RM57m) striker Kodjia, who has been restricted to 41 minutes of action in the Premier League this season.
With first-choice forward Wesley struggling for form – the Brazilian’s injury-time effort was his first in 10 games going back to Oct 5 – Kodjia’s two-goal contribution was well timed. – The Independent