'I was delighted for Neco - it was a special night for the Academy'
Barry Lewtas has detailed the pride felt at the Academy following Neco Williams' impressive first-team debut for Liverpool.
The teenage right-back provided an assist for Divock Origi's stoppage-time equaliser in the dramatic 5-5 Carabao Cup draw with Arsenal at Anfield last week.
The Reds then went on to claim their place in the quarter-finals by coming out on top on penalties, with another Academy prospect, Curtis Jones, slotting in the winning spot-kick.
Williams is set to return to U19s duty under Lewtas' management on Tuesday when the young Reds take on Genk in the UEFA Youth League, with kick-off set for 2pm GMT at the changed venue of the Academy.
Lewtas' team sit top of Group E after three games and defeated Genk 2-0 away last time out.
Read on for Lewtas' thoughts ahead of the game in St Helens...
On the pride at the Academy following the win over Arsenal...
It was a special night. The night before a number of players from the U18s got their chance to play for the U21s and it was a good test for them against Accrington Stanley’s first team. It was a fantastic experience for them and that’s why we enter these competitions. Then on Wednesday it was fantastic to see some of the boys playing for the first team in front of a full house against Arsenal. In the end it was a real memorable game, 10 goals and a penalty shootout. I thought the boys contributed to that so it was a fantastic night for the Academy - and even more so for the boys themselves.
On Williams' debut and his assist for Origi...
I was over the moon for Neco. It was an opportunity he has worked hard for, as have all of the boys, but he has shown quality when he has been up at Melwood. He has shown the right attitude that is required to go up there and train and be selected for the squad. That is no mean feat and then obviously to get a starting place as well, I thought he did well. It was great for him to get the assist at the end and it was a really nice evening for him.
On the U19s' strong start to their Youth League campaign…
We have had three different games in terms of style. The Napoli challenge away from home was tough with their pitch and the conditions and Salzburg also presented a tough challenge with the way they pressed and tried to make it difficult for us to play. In our last game against Genk we had to be careful on the counter-attack and in the end we got the space to play which really helped us. This is why we want to be in this competition: to play against different styles. For us we will just continue to take each game as it comes. Yes, it’s great that we are on seven points with what we’ve done so far but we will not look any further than Genk. We are preparing for this game and that is where all our attentions are. In terms of the qualification from the group we will let that take care of itself. We’ve just got to have belief in each game and try and execute the things that we want to do. We believe we can be a match for anyone.