Rio Ngumoha has opened up on the emotions of his dramatic late winner for Liverpool against Newcastle United – and the messages from team-mates which came before it
Liverpool’s new hero Rio Ngumoha said his team-mates had already been encouraging him to express himself before his dramatic winner at Newcastle. The 16-year-old became the Reds’ youngest ever Premier League scorer – and the fourth-youngest from any club – when he handed Liverpool victory at St James’ Park in the 10th minute of stoppage-time.
Ngumoha reflected on the moment manager Arne Slot called on him from the bench, saying: “It was crazy. He just looked at me, pointed at me, like ‘just quickly get ready’. You just have to come on and make an impact and luckily thank god I did that, just a proud moment.”
The youngster came on shortly after Will Osula equalised for 10-man Newcastle, who had dominated the second half despite their one man disadvantage. And he kept the coolest head in St James’ Park to steal in at the back post and beat Nick Pope.
“All of my team-mates, they’re all encouraging me to – if it’s on – to beat my man or take them on,” Ngumoha added. “But I’ve just got to mix it up sometimes because if there’s two players there then there might be a pass, a one-two, and then get it back and find myself in a scoring area.
“Normally, last season especially, academy coaches as well and even the first team coaches, they’re always saying ‘make the back post,’ and the fact that I made the back post is just crazy.”
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Ngumoha’s goal came after Mohamed Salah rolled the ball across and Dominik Szoboszlai created space with a dummy. When asked if he called for Szoboszlai to leave the ball, the teenager said “I think Dom just knew I was there. He said to me in the changing room ‘I hoped you were there’ and then luckily he just looked and then I was there. As the ball came I just thought I back myself to score and then… I don’t even know, it’s crazy.
“The fans, I heard them scream my name. That’s a very sensational moment, I would say, but you can’t just get carried away with all the noise. Because at the end of the day, I probably do that finish 100 times on the training ground, so it’s no different with the fans, but obviously the fans backing me there, it’s just crazy.”
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was full of praise for the Reds’ match-winner but urged him to stay grounded. “It was a dream debut for him. I think that whole attack was quite good. It was a perfect attack,” the Dutch defender told Sky Sports.
“We stayed calm towards the end as well, trying to find the right solution in order to score a goal. And we did it, so I’m very, very pleased for Rio.
“I’ve mentioned it before to him already, it’s all a start now, he has to keep working hard and stay humble. He has to enjoy this, because these nights you can’t take for granted, of course, if you’re in his position. And I’m sure with the players that we have, he will be back in training and having a hard session tomorrow again.”
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