‘Really incredible’… Southampton boss blown away by one Liverpool player on Wednesday night
Southampton boss Russell Martin has hailed Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher after his display on Wednesday night.
Kelleher was again given the nod in goal for the FA Cup tie against Southampton with Alisson still out injured
The Irishman was outstanding in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final defeat of Chelsea and turned in another strong display on Wednesday night.
Kelleher made a string of vital saves in the first half to keep Southampton at bay as the Championship side produced a strong start.
Those saves proved to be vital as Liverpool took the lead through Lewis Koumas and then gained real control of the game.
Jayden Danns stole the show with his brace off the bench to give Liverpool a 3-0 lead and a passage into the quarter-finals – but Saints boss Russell Martin was seemingly most impressed with Kelleher.
Russell Martin on Caoimhin Kelleher
Martin spoke to ITV after the final whistle and drew attention to the performance of Kelleher.
The Southampton boss felt that Kelleher made ‘really incredible’ saves to keep the Saints at bay early on
Martin believes that Southampton should have been 2-0 up early on but Kelleher stood in their way.
“I don’t think it’s a fair reflection,” said Martin. “I think we’ve had the better chances in the game, I think we could have been 2-0 up before they even got close to our goal and I think the difference is the quality in finishing but I’m really proud of our performance.”
“It’s quality, it’s composure… their goalkeeper made some really incredible saves, so I guess it’s all of that combined,” he added.
The last few days have been huge for Kelleher.
The Irishman stepped up with an enormous performance against Chelsea to help win the Carabao Cup on Sunday.
Kelleher built on that with another strong display against Southampton, keeping two clean sheets in just a few days.
If there was ever any doubt, Kelleher has again proven himself as a top-quality goalkeeper and one of the best ‘backup’ goalkeepers around.
Liverpool are lucky to have Kelleher behind Alisson and Jurgen Klopp can be so confident in him turning in strong displays whenever called upon.
The fear is that Kelleher will want to leave and play first-team football away from Anfield, but Liverpool can certainly command a strong fee for the shot-stopper after again seeing him shine between the sticks
