Thomas Ince today dedicated Liverpool Under-18s' FA Youth Cup victory over Birmingham to the 96 who lost their lives at Hillsborough.
Ince and his teammates attended Wednesday's memorial service at Anfield, which marked the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, and the youngster believes it inspired the team to their 3-0 semi-final first leg win a day later.
"When we went to Anfield and saw the fans paying their tributes it was unbelievable. It was an inspiration for us," Ince said.
"We knew it wasn't only that we had a potential final to look forward to, but the fact that we could pay our own tribute to the 96 that died.
"It was pleasing to pay tribute to them with a 3-0 win and hopefully we have done them proud."
The forward certainly played his part on the night and enjoyed his role behind two-goal Lauri Dalla Valle.
"Over the last few games I have been playing in that position as it allows me to get in the gap between midfield and the back four, which allows me to do what I do best," he said.
"I am enjoying the role and I feel I am more involved in the game."
Hugh McAuley's men were leading 3-0 at the interval, but failed to add to their goal tally in the second half.
"Going in a few goals up helped us calm the nerves, but in the second half we got a little bit sloppy," added Ince.
"I think there were a few tired legs, but we can work on that in training and hopefully put the first-half performance on for a full 90 minutes."
"When we went to Anfield and saw the fans paying their tributes it was unbelievable. It was an inspiration for us," Ince said.
"We knew it wasn't only that we had a potential final to look forward to, but the fact that we could pay our own tribute to the 96 that died.
"It was pleasing to pay tribute to them with a 3-0 win and hopefully we have done them proud."
The forward certainly played his part on the night and enjoyed his role behind two-goal Lauri Dalla Valle.
"Over the last few games I have been playing in that position as it allows me to get in the gap between midfield and the back four, which allows me to do what I do best," he said.
"I am enjoying the role and I feel I am more involved in the game."
Hugh McAuley's men were leading 3-0 at the interval, but failed to add to their goal tally in the second half.
"Going in a few goals up helped us calm the nerves, but in the second half we got a little bit sloppy," added Ince.
"I think there were a few tired legs, but we can work on that in training and hopefully put the first-half performance on for a full 90 minutes."
0 comments:
Post a Comment