Reaction'Walking out with Max at the start - I was absolutely buzzing!'
Walking out alongside Max Woltman to represent Liverpool’s first team is a feeling that left Tyler Morton beaming with pride.
Wirral-born duo Morton and Woltman have been close friends since primary school and have progressed through the ranks at the Academy together.
On Sunday, both teenagers were named in the Reds’ senior starting XI - Woltman for the first time - as Shrewsbury Town were defeated 4-1 in the third round of the Emirates FA Cup at Anfield, with Morton telling Liverpoolfc.com: “I was absolutely buzzing walking out with him at the start!
“I couldn’t be more proud of him, how we’ve all come up and the opportunity we’ve been given. We couldn’t be more happy with what we’ve been given and just to see him on the pitch with me, even giving him the ball felt a bit mad! But I was buzzing for him and we were both buzzing for the win.”
Read on for rest of our post-match interview with Morton…
Highlights: Liverpool 4-1 Shrewsbury Town
Tyler, you had to fight back from a goal down but you made it through comfortably in the end…
Yeah, that was the job, to come and win and get in the hat for the next round. That’s what we’ve come here and done and we obviously couldn’t have done it without the fans behind our back because we’re younger players. With the likes of Virg, Ibou, Robbo and Fab, Curt also, you can’t give them more praise for helping all the youngsters such as myself out.
Shrewsbury were strong and direct, the kind of opponent you would have expected to face before the game…
Yeah, 100 per cent. They’re a team and that’s what they’re all like in the lower leagues. It’s not easy, it’s definitely not easy at any level because they’ve come here and given us a different challenge to what we get week in and week out. It’s not like Premier League football, it’s direct, it’s strong and it’s what we’ve got to adapt to – especially the youngsters coming up, it’s what we’ve got to adapt to. I think we done quite well today to get the win and it helped with Bobby and Taki coming on. I’m just really happy for my mates coming on at the end and I couldn’t be more proud of them, to be honest.
How cool was Kaide Gordon when finishing his chance?
Kaide’s quality, everyone knows that. Kaide’s very, very good. For a 17-year-old, even coming and playing in these games is going to be tough but the composure he’s got and his left foot, everyone knows he’s just got quality. Hopefully this is the first of many, which I think it will be, and I thought he played really well. I’m really happy for him.
How about your own performance? Was that the most comfortable you’ve felt as a first-team player?
Definitely. I felt really comfortable on the ball. It’s completely different in the first team, you’ve always got an option to play and I was really happy with my performance today. But the lads around me helped me: Curt and Fabinho especially, playing in the midfield with me, and Elijah in the first half - we thought we played quite well together. I was really happy with my performance and I did feel really comfortable out there today.
Fabinho scored twice and Firmino was back in the goals too – that’s a massive boost for the team…
Definitely, they’re two massive players for the team, Fab and Bobby. He took his goals very well, Fab, and Bobby’s is just typical him! They’re really helpful to me in training and in the games so I’m really pleased for them and really happy today.
Finally, the fixture list remains busy over the next few weeks, so are you hoping for more opportunities?
Definitely. My main aim is to stay fit and healthy and always be ready for whatever’s ahead and the challenge ahead. Hopefully I’m in the next team: I’ll fight for my place, I’ll fight in training and I’ll do my best to do what I can to be involved. But yeah, to stay fit and healthy is the main one for me.