from the official site:
http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N162867090116-1405.htmOWENS' YOUTH CUP VERDICT
John Owens 16 January 2009
In this week's Academy diary John Owens discusses last night's pulsating Youth Cup clash with Bristol Rovers.
I think the only way to start this week's Academy Diary is to reflect on last night's epic Youth Cup encounter with Bristol Rovers.
For most of the week we have been completely focused on the clash with the Pirates and even though the match turned out to be a bit of a struggle for us, I was pleased with the work we did going into the clash.
As ever, cup football is about progress to the next round, and although we were pushed all the way, we managed to hold our nerve in a penalty shoot-out to set up a fifth round meeting with Chelsea at Anfield.
I don't think we did ourselves justice in terms of our overall performance, particularly with the talent we have available. We twice took the lead courtesy of Lauri Dalla Valle but each time we were pegged back almost straight from the restart. That's something we need to address and look at before the next round.
But I think we also have to give credit to Bristol Rovers. Ahead of the match we had expressed our concern at what state the pitch might be in. Football and rugby are both played at the Memorial Stadium so we thought it may affect the quality of the surface.
That wasn't the case and we can only applaud Rovers for their spirit and never-say-die attitude.
We feel we can play better and there is no doubt we will have to do that when we face Chelsea in the next round.
To be honest I'm not too familiar with the Blues at this moment in time. All I know is that they have invested heavily in their youth team and it is unlikely that they will have spent so much on players who aren't of the highest calibre.
I remember the last time we played them they had the highly-rated Scott Sinclair on the wing. He has gone on to make a name for himself as one to watch, but on that occasion I remember Stephen Darby marking him out of the game.
Obviously, this tie will involve new faces and it will also take place a week or so after the first-team face them, so it will bring some added spice to the encounter.
The players will also be buoyed by the opportunity to play at Anfield in a competitive game. It is a dream for any youngster at the Academy to play on the famous turf in front of a crowd and now this group know that they will realise it at some point in the weeks ahead.
We have no league game this weekend, so we can now recharge our batteries and look ahead to next week's clash at home to Manchester City.
