There were plenty of positives to enjoy from the 3-0 win over Brighton as Kopites were treated to some wonderful goals and a clean sheet as our passage to the fifth round of the FA Cup was effectively booked with a quarter of the match remaining.
The Reds were so reassured in the closing stages that Arne Slot took the opportunity to bring on two teenagers in Rio Ngumoha and Trey Nyoni, as well as handing a rare senior appearance to Calvin Ramsay.
Ngumoha had a reasonable goal disallowed and VAR was not in use to overturn it
With ten minutes of normal time remaining, a quick Liverpool counter-attack saw Cody Gakpo pick out the 17-year-old winger on the left flank and the youngster fired home before firing past Jason Steele.
Unfortunately, he was denied his dream moment in front of the Kop as the offside flag was raised, and with VAR not in effect at this stage of the FA Cup, there was no opportunity to review the decision.
TV replays showed that Ngumoha was actually onside when the ball was played to him – the goal should have stood and the on-field call would almost certainly have been overturned had the video assistance been in effect (see screenshot below from @sbzcomps on X).
Ngumoha’s goal would have stood had VAR been in use
In the wider context, the disallowed goal didn’t really matter to Liverpool, who were 3-0 up at the time and marching calmly into the next round of the tournament.
However, it is wrong for the 17-year-old to be denied a goal for the Kop due to an incorrect decision by the assistant referee and the lack of VAR to correct that error.
Many football fans and pundits seem to be enjoying the technology’s absence ahead of the FA Cup fifth round, and there’s no denying that its use in English football has often been infuriating in recent years.
On this occasion, however, it would have made a deserved goal count for Ngumoha and given him a moment to cherish at Anfield, joining his fairytale winner at Newcastle last August.
The teenage starlet will at least have plenty of opportunities in the future to score at the Kop and tick that milestone off the list. It’s a shame it didn’t happen on Saturday night, but it seems like a matter of when, not if, for him.
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