CARABAO CUP hero Caoimhin Kelleher played as a STRIKER until he was 14 years old, according to his youth team coach.
Kelleher, now 23, smashed home the winning penalty in Liverpool’s dramatic Wembley shootout win over Chelsea on Sunday.
Former striker Kelleher buried the decisive Liverpool penalty
Kelleher and captain Henderson celebrate with the trophy
Kelleher then saw Chelsea opposite number Kepa Arrizabalaga sky an effort miles over his bar as the Reds won their first silverware of the season.
But it turns out Liverpool had a secret edge when the 11-10 penalty nail biter came down to the keepers – as their stopper had been a budding centre-forward growing up in Ireland.
That was until his father intervened, according to the Ireland goalkeeper’s former coach from the Cork Schoolboys League.
Eddie Harrington said: “He only went in goal at Under-14s level.
“That was a massive transition. We taught him to pass it out from the back but he probably had the footwork from being an outfielder.
“He was a very good centre-forward and represented his county in that position.
Kelleher was a striker in his teens and it came in handy at Wembley
“For three or four years he was our centre-forward and it was only a chance phone call from his father to myself that changed everything.
“We had an under-age goalkeeper who left as he didn’t want to play anymore.
“Ray, his father, called me and asked: ‘Will you put Caoimhin in goal?’
“Myself and the other coaches were reluctant as we were going to lose our main striker.
“But we thought let’s take Ray’s word on this because he felt his boy could amount to something in the position as he had done a bit of training with him.
“We just threw him in and that was halfway through the Under-14s season.
“It’s weird how things work out, it got the ball rolling in that regard.
“It’s a story I always tell to people back here but it’s a very surreal story.”
Kelleher has played 17 games for the Reds after joining their youth team in 2015.
The final heroics saw the young Irishman in the spotlight for Liverpool.
When asked about the penalty after the game, he told Sky Sports: “I think it was more hit and hope.”
The 23-year-old was the hero on Sunday night
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