Ball boy Oakley Cannonier the unsung hero of Liverpool’s epic Champions League semi-final triumph over Barcelona
While delirious Liverpool fans celebrated an epic Champions League semi-final triumph over Barcelona, it emerged a 14-year-old ball boy was the unsung hero. THE SCORE.
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Sometimes it’s the attention to detail that can produce something amazing.
And that’s what happened at Anfield with a 14-year-old ball boy named Oakley Cannonier now being hailed a hero for playing a crucial role in Liverpool’s shock comeback win over Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final.
Cannonier’s speed in delivering the ball to Trent Alexander-Arnold for the corner kick which resulted in the winning goal by Divock Origi has been revealed as a part of plan instigated by the Liverpool coaching staff.
It turns out Liverpool’s match analysts had noticed in leg one at Camp Nou how Barcelona’s players moaned and became distracted whenever a free-kick, throw-in or corner was awarded against them, even if the decision was blatantly the correct one.
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Manager Jurgen Klopp recognised the possibilities and filtered a message through the club which found its way to Carl Lancaster, a coaching mentor at the club’s academy, who also had the job of co-ordination of ball boys.
He told the boys to be as fast as possible for the Liverpool players and Cannonier certainly delivered in that historic moment.
The schoolboy is part of Liverpool’s academy and has apparently shown plenty of natural talent. Given his role in the one of the greatest moments in the club’s history, we’re tipping he will get every chance to wear the red shirt.
Australian soccer diehards were glued to their TV screens for the epic UEFA Champions League semi-finals — well almost everyone.
Melbourne Victory stars Lawrence Thomas and Terry Antonis admitted sleep took precedence ahead of their own A-League semi-final clash away to Sydney FC on Sunday.
Antonis’ plans of an early night were scuppered with Victory’s late Asian Champions League kick-off from South Korea on Wednesday night.
Like Liverpool’s stunning comeback against Barcelona, Thomas got excited when checking in to see Tottenham had clawed back a 3-0 aggregate deficit.
“Leaving home for training in the morning, it was 2-2. Then I got into Richmond, went to café, checked and the score was 3-2,” Thomas said.
Geelong’s AFL star Zach Tuohy, a lifelong Liverpool supporter, also managed to miss his team’s historic moment.
The Irishman saw the start of Wednesday morning’s game when he was up feeding his newborn child but decided because he had training that day he should go back to bed.
He was then woken up by his phone beeping with dozens of text messages after Liverpool had produced the miracle comeback.
History says a lot of the great comedy acts start with a cult following before they break through into the mainstream.
This appears to be the case with Fox Footy’s late night comedy show ‘Up The Guts’, hosted by Lawrence Mooney, which is on after every Friday night game.
One particular segment of the show called ‘On The Sauce’ is gathering serious momentum in the social media world.
The segment takes the mickey out of Fox Footy’s flagship program ‘On The Couch’ by slowing down the speech of panellists Gerard Healy, Jonathan Brown, Garry Lyon and Paul Roos to make them sound like they’re drunk.
These tipsy conversations have got a lot of love and sit at No. 1 for most watched AFL content on online forum website Reddit.
It’s no surprise to hear that Browny finds the piss-take hilarious while Richmond star Jack Riewoldt, another Fox Footy regular, is also a big fan.
THE WHISPER
WHICH former AFLW player who dabbles in the media is set to be a part of this year’s celebrity Australian Survivor? We hear she may be joined by an Olympic gold medallist with a political background.
Originally published as Ball boy Oakley Cannonier the unsung hero of Liverpool’s epic Champions League semi-final triumph over Barcelona
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