Barry Lewtas believes lifting the FA Youth Cup will prove to be a massive step forward in the development of Liverpool's gifted youngsters as he declared: “They'll remember this night forever.”
The Reds won the biggest prize in Academy football for the first time in 12 years as they beat Manchester City 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw following extra-time.
Teenager Curtis Jones, who has already made the leap to the first-team squad, joined in the celebrations at the Academy Stadium and there's no shortage of talent looking to follow in his footsteps.
“I’m over the moon,” Lewtas said.
“I said to Curtis when he came to celebrate, what about all those years over on pitch five at Kirkby when we’d take a hammering against City!
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“When you’re in the journey for so long, you can’t help but be over the moon for those players. They deserve it.
“The medal is great, something they’ll never forget. I spoke to Jon Newby who works at the Academy. He won it back in the day (1996) and he said it will be the night of their lives as long as they win it.
“I said to the boys about not settling for getting to a final. I think if you’re at a club like Liverpool or Manchester City, there is no such thing as a good cup run. A good cup run to Manchester City and Liverpool is winning it.
“That gives them that experience of what is expected at a club like this. You’re expected to be in finals and you’re expected to win. I think from a development point of view, it’s important. And to do it against a real good team, that’s where the learning is.
“I think it was fitting that we could beat City at the end. The journey, if you like, has come to an end there.”
Liverpool were up against it for long spells of the first half and fell behind to Nabil Touaizi's cool finish just before the break.
However, the Reds rallied in the second half and got their reward four minutes from time when Bobby Duncan's swerving long-range strike slipped through the grasp of keeper Louie Moulden.
“Listen, we were disappointed with certain parts of our game in the first half, but City were excellent,” Lewtas said.
“They passed the ball well. Not many teams have played through us like that this season.
“We spoke at half time about being a bit more comfortable, not panicking out of possession, getting a bit tighter. And I thought we grew then, and kept the ball a bit better. It became more of a game.
“They’re a great set of lads and they never quite know when they are beaten. They’re always pushing.”
It was Lewtas' prolific front two who made the crucial contributions.
For Duncan, it was a dream return to his former club. He spent six years in City's Academy ranks before rejecting a lucrative contract offer because his heart was set on joining Liverpool.
With City retaining his registration, Steven Gerrard's cousin effectively lost a year of his career before finally being able to join the Reds for a compensation fee of around £200,000 last summer.
He hasn't looked back with 32 goals in a stunning debut season with the club. Duncan celebrated by cupping his hand behind his ear towards the City fans.
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“I was celebrating more than him so I don’t even know what he did!” Lewtas said.
“We said a couple of days ago when we got the balls to train with that they move a lot in the air.
“They have a few players in their ranks who can hit a ball, so that was a bit of a worry for us, but we got the right end of the stick.”
With no goals in extra-time, it went to spot-kicks with Neco Williams, Elijah Dixon-Bonner, Abdi Sharif and Jack Bearne all converting.
City's Cole Palmer missed but Paul Glatzel remained ice cool as he rifled the decisive penalty into the top corner.
“We hadn’t practised them,” Lewtas revealed.
“I was kind of torn between it. Sometimes you can get injuries – Bobby took a knock on his ankle and wasn’t too sure. So sometimes the best laid plans can go wrong.
“But when I looked at the list, I knew we had five good ball-strikers. It was good.”
Liverpool Under-18s will now set their sights on completing a dream double. They are currently three points behind league leaders Derby County with a game in hand.
The young Reds face City again on Tuesday before entertaining Middlesbrough next Saturday. “We’ll be giving it our best shot," Lewtas vowed.
