Lewtas: U18s ready for title race run-in
Barry Lewtas held a sense of pride in his Liverpool U18s players after they beat Everton 1-0 on Saturday to maintain their hopes of winning the Premier League North title.
Jack Bearne was the only goalscorer at Finch Farm as the young Reds remained within three points of Derby County at the top of the table.
Read on for Lewtas' thoughts on the mini-derby victory and the conclusion to a thrilling campaign...
On being proud of his team...
Yeah, because they [Everton] are a good team, they're right up there with us. A win for them would have taken them above us, so they're a good team, they've scored a lot of goals. They weren't without chances today, if I'm being honest, but I'm really proud of the boys today.
On Bearne being the match-winner in both victories over Everton this season...
I didn't think of that! It was a fantastic goal. We talked about spaces on the side of the pitch - I thought Yasser [Larouci] was excellent in the first half. We got down the side and we talked to the boys about being between the goalposts. But it was a real good finish - he kept his eye on the ball, he kept it low. A fantastic goal for us.
On the possibility of having a penalty when Jake Cain felt he was fouled by Everton's goalkeeper in the second half...
Yeah, potentially. It looked one. I think we lost a little bit of control in the game - credit to them, they're a good team. I don't think we passed the ball and kept the ball as much as we would have liked to in the second half. But that's these type of games, you've got to play against the opposition and I thought we were quite resolute in the second half.
On Daniel Atherton's performance and his second-half save to deny Ellis Simms...
He's a good shot-stopper, so we know what we're getting from Dan. They pressured us high as well and I thought his concentration was good in terms of playing out. It was a good morning for him.
On the remaining four games of the league campaign...
It's a great experience for the boys. We're all enjoying it. We've just got to look after what we do, we've done our job today and we're at West Brom on Wednesday. We've just got to move on to the next one.
On what beating Everton twice this season will do for the confidence of his players...
Of course it's always nice. There is a rivalry and we want to win these games, just as much as they want to win. But it's important to not get too high when we win and obviously not be too disappointed when we lose. I think we've shown that since the Derby game and in Zagreb as well. Defeats along the way are part of the game, it's how you bounce back from them. Listen, we're made up, but we won't be going over the top and we'll be ready for Wednesday.