Get all your news in one place.

100’s of premium titles.
One app.

Start reading

Get all your news in one place.

100’s of premium titles. One news app.

Start reading

Liverpool Echo

Sport

Theo Squires

'We had a feeling' - Excited Calvin Ramsay claim made after Liverpool training admission

Liverpool Calvin Ramsay Barry Lewtas Ben Doak Mateusz Musialowski Matty Echo Jurgen Klopp Luke Chambers Accrington

Calvin Ramsay has had to wait a long time to pull on a Liverpool jersey and represent the Reds for the first time. Having joined from Aberdeen in a deal worth up to a potential £6.5m this summer, an injury was spotted in the teenager’s medical before he suffered a setback earlier this month when close to a return, taking a knock to his ankle after being named in a senior matchday squad for the first time at home to Rangers.

However, the 19-year-old is now back in training with Jurgen Klopp ’s first team and looking to make up for lost time. The German revealed on Tuesday that the teenager was poised to feature for the Under-21s this weekend for Saturday’s mini-Merseyside derby against Everton as he steps up his recovery.

Yet rather than act as his Liverpool ‘debut’, Ramsay will head into the game having already made his first appearance for the Reds courtesy of a Papa John’s Trophy defeat to Accrington Stanley. Coming off the bench to score in the 3-2 loss at the Wham Stadium, the right-back’s impact was immediately noticeable.

The fact he had never before even trained with the Under-21s before lining up alongside them in Accrington made his showing against the League One outfit even more impressive. And young Reds head coach Barry Lewtas offered a little insight into the decision to include Ramsay in the Liverpool squad when speaking exclusively to the ECHO.

“He was excited, which is good,” Lewtas said. “This is part of what this group is here for as well. I thought he looked very composed when he came on.

“He was one of the players who, when we were under pressure, put his foot on the ball and got us playing. He supported the attack and weighed in with a goal. He’s going to be pleased.

“We had a feeling during the week that there was a chance of him maybe being involved, so we knew there was a chance.

“He’s been training with the first team but I’d met him a couple of times and he comes across as a really good kid. It was great to have him with us and I think he will have enjoyed his first 30 minutes.”

Ramsay wasn’t the only Scottish summer signing to come off the bench and make his mark at Accrington with 16-year-old Ben Doak also getting on the scoresheet in what was only his second appearance for the Under-21s. A summer signing from Celtic, the winger has thrived in the youth ranks so far this season at the Academy and Lewtas was pleased by his impact off the bench.

“Obviously it was only Ben’s second game for us off the bench,” he said. “Ben gives you a real threat in behind. He carries the ball well, he’s a willing runner in those moments and the game was probably just crying out for a little bit of that as well.

“I felt we needed to get the ball up in their half, whether it be through carrying the ball or building it up so Ben was a good option for us off the bench.”

Prior to Doak’s introduction, starting wingers Mateusz Musialowski and Melkaumu Frauendorf had also caught the eye against Accrington as Liverpool started well. And while they were unable to maintain such levels for the entirety of the game as the young Reds toiled against a physical Football League outfit, Lewtas was impressed by the glimpses the duo showed.

“I thought Matty was excellent first half,” he said. “It was a real shame because it was just the type of game it became, we brought him off because of the state of the game really.

“It was bitty. Matty’s a player you need to serve and get him the ball and it wasn’t quite going our way second half in that way. Matty was a really threat in the first half and combined really well with Luke (Chambers).

“Obviously on the other side, Mel and Luca (Stephenson) were a real threat as well. Loads of positives but we’re just a little bit sore about that second goal.”

Liverpool were unfortunate to see an early Frauendorf effort chalked off for offside following great play from Musialowski and Chambers, before Accrington took the lead with a questionable strike themselves from Tommy Leigh as the assistant referee’s flag stayed down. It was the second Papa John’s Trophy game in a row where the young Reds have been on the wrong side of a questionable offside call.

Yet Lewtas was more frustrated by the manner of Accrington’s second goal early in the second half as former Red Liam Coyle stole the ball from Stefan Bajcetic, leaving the youngster injured in a heap on the floor, before threading in Leigh for his brace.

“I’m not the referee so I want to be a little bit careful with it,” he admitted. “Coyley was one of ours as well so I don’t want to kill Coyley with it either. It’s a competitive game.

“I just felt the tackle, where it was and what it led to, I think it was easy to give a foul because it looked a foul. It wasn’t by the side of the pitch, the reality was it was close to our goal and it led to a counter and a goal.

“I think the consequence to not giving a foul when it looked so much a foul was a strange decision for me. A tackle’s a tackle but I think we could all see from the side, it would have been an easy foul to give.

“That really knocked the stuffing out of us. We had a really good first half. Yes, a goal down which we were disappointed with.

“We had one in the net ourselves which was close. It was disallowed for offside and that stung the lads a little bit. I don’t think the game caught momentum again for quite a while. Ball out of play, linesman coming off took an absolute blooming age. It was a bit bitty.”

Lewtas continued: “We’re playing against a League One team so it was tough. We had some really good moments in the first half. Didn’t quite stick and wasn’t perfect but we had some really good moments.

“I thought we did start really well. It was a real shame, it would have been a cracking goal and I thought we worked the ball into those positions really well. It’s always hard and disappointing to get a decision scratched off for that, and then not get a foul for the second goal.

“I thought we could improve on them in the second half but we really struggled with the momentum. The ball went long a lot, which I thought we dealt with really well. The ball was out of play a lot, there were a lot of stoppages for the injuries. Linesman comes off injured.

“There’s no excuses that we lost the game, it just kind of interrupted the flow. It’s not me making excuses, we came up against a League One club and they play for three points every week. They’re well-organised and have some good players.

“We are disappointed with certain parts of the game but there were certain bits where we stood up really well. When we were playing, we caused them some problems.

“And near the end of the game, when we got the control back, we showed what we can do. The important thing is that we come to these places and show that we can play.

“And I think that we’ve done that in all three group games this season. We’re disappointed not to win any but we certainly haven’t gone away from any feeling embarrassed.

“I think we showed an edge to our game which the lads should be really proud of. I know our league, people can have their opinions and that’s fine, but we rolled our sleeves up when we had to and competed and that’s what I said to the lads in the dressing room.”

READ NEXT