Liverpool will be looking to book their place in the quarter-final of the FA Youth Cup tonight when they face Ipswich Town.
The young Reds travel to Portman Road where they will take on Ipswich in the fifth round of the competition. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson’s Under-18s will be looking to put in another impressive performance.
It took a goal from Michael Laffey to send Liverpool through to the fifth round in their previous match. Laffey has been with the club since Under-10 level, and the midfielder signed his first professional contract in December. The young Reds claimed a 1-0 win over Port Vale last month to set up tonight’s tie in East Anglia.
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Liverpool have relatively fond memories of this competition, having lifted the trophy in 2019. However, the feat was not repeated two years later when they young Reds lost to Aston Villa in the final.
Last season saw Liverpool exit the cup at this stage, with a fifth round loss to Chelsea. Bridge-Wilkinson and co will be hoping for a different result this time out against Ipswich.
The East Anglian team beat last season’s finalists Nottingham Forest to set up a tie against Liverpool. They needed a penalty shootout to secure progression to the fifth round.
Liverpool will have a previous winner of the FA Youth Cup on their coaching staff for the trip to Portman Road. Jay Spearing won the competition twice when he was part of the Under-18 set up back in 2006 and 2007.
The 34-year-old has played with Liverpool’s Under-23s this season, but is also part of the coaching staff for the Under-18 group. And the midfielder has explained why his own experiences in the competition will hopefully help the current group of players thrive under the pressure.
“People always ask me about my FA Youth Cup experiences and I was very fortunate to win the competition twice – one as captain when we beat Manchester United at Old Trafford," Spearing told Liverpoolfc.com. "I don’t like to mention it too often, but I do mention it when it comes to FA Youth Cup time!
“Back then, we didn’t have the luxury of the UEFA Youth League, and I explain to the boys just how special this competition is.
“The memories you have from the FA Youth Cup live with you forever. I still speak to a lot of the lads from that time and we remain very close mates. You make friends for life in these moments.
“I won the FA Youth Cup twice with my great friend Stephen Darby and I will always remember those amazing times. We know the situation Darbs is in, with his diagnosis of MND, so we are giving him all the help he needs. He always watches our games on LFCTV. He texts me saying to make sure the lads give it everything because of the memories we’ve got from those days.”
Spearing added: “Cup ties are one-off games and you can’t always play free-flowing football, have 90 per cent possession and score five goals. Port Vale made it really difficult for us. They fought, won second balls and put us under a lot of pressure.
“Our boys are not really used to that, but I have to give them credit because they dug deep, worked hard and fought right to the end. The boys showed a different side to themselves and we were very glad to see that.
“We can’t wait for Friday night. It’s another long trek, but Portman Road is full of history and it will be a great stage for the lads to play on.
“Ipswich won the UEFA Cup under the great Sir Bobby Robson back in the day. They were also in the Premier League for a long time and they are a big club.
It’s a great opportunity for our lads to go down there, make a bit of a statement, and try to reach the quarter-finals.
“It’s going to be a difficult game – we have seen Ipswich play and know what they are about – but it’s a game we are relishing.”
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