ADAMS’ ANFIELD MASTERCLASS

Scot hails his plucky Plymouth after they shut up shop against Klopp to earn replay

NEVER a man to mince his words, Derek Adams followed up the boldest of boasts with a warning for the Premier League giants his League Two upstarts had just stifled into submission.

‘That has to be one of the best defensive performances Anfield has ever seen,’ claimed the defiant Scot after his Plymouth side sat in for virtually the whole of this FA Cup tie to force a replay at Home Park, sparking joyous celebrations among 8,000 travelling fans.

Suggesting his team would probably be a little braver in the return, the former Ross County boss then promised Jurgen Klopp’s side a real lower-league reception on the south coast.

‘I think for Liverpool, it will be welcome to the real world when they come,’ said Adams.

There was certainly something slightly unreal about yesterday’s tie. Klopp included five teenagers in the youngest Liverpool team ever fielded, only to see them held by a team 67 places below them in the league structure.

But the German claimed to have no regrets afterwards.

‘I don’t think the line-up was a mistake but you can see it like this if you want,’ he said. ‘We made mistakes in the game and it is as it always is with the boys.

‘The good things they do, they are responsible for and the bad things they do I am. I am 100-per-cent responsible but I have no problem with it.

‘I always choose line-ups to win the game. I didn’t think a second about the age. We made that line-up because the boys deserve it.’

Plymouth, however, were rarely troubled as they became the first team from the fourth tier to draw at Anfield in the FA Cup since Doncaster in 1974.

‘We had to stop them playing,’ explained Adams (below).

‘We limited them to few chances and I’m delighted with the players who’ve worked extremely hard.

‘I would be naive to come here and think we could get at top players.

‘Liverpool had a lot of possession but they could have had 90 per cent as far as I’m concerned, as long as they didn’t score.

‘They had enough on the field to beat us. They had a lot of possession but did they have many shots on target? No and that’s credit to my players.’

Klopp made no excuses but clearly wasn’t enamoured with Plymouth’s approach.

‘The biggest challenge in football is to play a defending side.

‘Maybe Plymouth, in this moment, is happy. I don’t know if at home they can play the same defensive style.

‘Probably they can. The match was boring. I really am happy the Liverpool crowd didn’t leave after 60 minutes because it wasn’t the most exciting game.

‘It was a very dominant game from my side but not with real chances.

‘There were one or two shots that is normal but (Plymouth) did everything they had to do to deserve a rematch and now we have it. Yippee! But we could have done better, 100 per cent.

Klopp’s decision to play so many youngsters certainly backfired a little. After a congestion of holiday fixtures, Klopp now has a 300-mile trip to the south coast to contemplate as part of a period that already comprises Premier League games with Manchester United and Chelsea and a twolegged League Cup semi-final against Southampton.

So, there is much for Klopp to think about. But these stories should never be about the big club. There are not enough upsets in modern football, it’s much too ordered in favour of the wealthy, for us to allow one to slip by unheralded.

This may not have been a historic victory for Plymouth but it was nevertheless an FA Cup shock from the very best traditions — and no wonder their travelling support made such a racket when they heard the full-time whistle.

This was a day out that would have started and ended in darkness and, as such, they are very much deserving of their moment and indeed the one that will follow when the two teams meet again.

In many ways, it was a strange game. Normally results such as this come about on the back of missed chances by the bigger club and some truly inspired performances from members of the opposition. Often, the woodwork is involved too.

Here at Anfield, there was none of this. There was no drama and nothing particularly heroic from anyone in Plymouth colours. Instead, we saw a perfectly-executed game plan devised by Adams.

The 41-year-old — whose team sit second in League Two — was as straightforward as his team’s football when he spoke afterwards. He brought his team here to smother Liverpool and hope for a break at the other end. It sounds easy but it isn’t and the reason it came off was that his players executed it perfectly and Liverpool’s young team had neither the wit nor fortune required to break them down.

Taking an aerial photo of the field would have been illuminating. More often than not, it would have shown nine Plymouth outfield players compressed into a 40-yard space in front of their own goal and then a gap of another 20 yards or so between them and centre forward Paul Garita.

On TV, former Liverpool player Steve McManaman questioned the tactics, but the end justified the means.

This is part of the skill of the football coach. You simply can’t come to a place like Anfield and tell your players just to go out and enjoy themselves. You have to have a plan and Plymouth’s was as carefully prepared as it was well executed. Liverpool were disappointing. It was exciting to see young prospects Ben Woodburn and Trent Alexander Arnold in the Liverpool first team. Divock Origi has been great to watch at times this season also. But here there was no youthful inspiration, just examples of current limitations. This happens to young players, yet it was unfortunate for Klopp that so many underperformed in one go. Liverpool had a goal disallowed in the first half — Origi fouled Gary Miller before finishing — and brought a handful of routine saves from Plymouth goalkeeper Luke McCormick.

But McCormick got the man of the match award here not for anything spectacular, more for the organisation and sense of calm he brought to a defence he marshalled so well.

For the first half, Plymouth offered nothing going forwards. In truth, they didn’t really try to attack Liverpool. At the interval, there would not have been a mark on Garita’s shorts.

As time wore on, the underdogs did turn the game into a contest. Loris Karius saved a free-kick from former Celtic youth Graham Carey, while sub Craig Tanner worried Liverpool sporadically with some sharp pace and the courage to take a player on.

The game did stretch a little and as a consequence the atmosphere became a little rawer.

Klopp joked afterwards that the home fans would have been excused an early departure but that would have been wrong. Plymouth deserved to take their bow in front of a full house and Adams called it just right.

His reward is that he’s got the chance to do it all over again.