Kelleher the hero as Liverpool win on penalties with the Cork man scoring the winning penalty

CORK'S Caoimhín Kelleher was the hero for Liverpool on Sunday, as scored the penalty before Chelsea missed, to win them the Carabao Cup.

The Reds won 11-10 in the shoot-out after a 0-0 draw in normal time, which ended a ten year domestic cup drought.

It was the goalkeeper, who came through at Ringmahon Rangers as a striker before becoming a shot-stopper, who made sure to put away his spot kick after a gruelling 120 minutes in Wembley Stadium.

The final was an accumulation of a long run for Kelleher in this season’s Carabao Cup. He first appeared against Norwich in the third round at Carrow Road and he saved a penalty that night during a 2-0 win for The Reds. Kelleher next played against Leicester in the quarter finals and he saved two penalties to send Liverpool through to the final four. In the semi-finals, the Cork-man played in the second leg against Arsenal and he kept a clean sheet while Diogo Jota scored twice to send Liverpool to Wembley.

His first involvement on Sunday was to deny Christian Pulisic from point blank range inside five minutes. The shot-stopper stood his ground on that occasion, as he diverted the American’s shot into Joël Matip’s path and he cleared it away from danger.

Kelleher’s save help settle Liverpool, who struggled to find a passing rhythm at the beginning of the game. Eventually they began to force chances and Sadio Mané had the best of the bunch after he got on the end of a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold. The winger headed the ball as soon as it came his way and it dropped wide of the target.

This opening was clearly a source of inspiration for Liverpool as they dominated the game after Mané’s near miss. The Senegalese forward went close to scoring on the half hour mark after a shot by Naby Keïta was spilled into his path. Mané hit this first time and Édouard Mend stretched to put it out for a corner.

Kelleher’s next involvement came after a lightening quick break from Chelsea, which Kai Havertz led. The midfielder aimed his shot at the bottom right corner of goal, Kelleher reacted quickly to palm it out for a corner, and then the offside flag went up. Moments later, Havertz was again denied by the Cork-man as he caught a ball from the German which was sailing towards the top corner.

The beginning of the second half saw a textbook move by Kelleher. After a chipped ball over the top found Mason Mount, the goalkeeper charged off his line and spread himself. By making the goal smaller, Mount was forced to strike first time and he hit the post.

The next shot which went Kelleher’s way was hit from outside Mount’s boot and this went straight into the shot-stopper’s hands.

While Kelleher kept Chelsea out at one end, Salah nearly made it 1-0 but his dinked ball was taken off the line by Thiago Silva. Just a minute after this, Matip put the ball in from a free-kick and this was ruled out for offside.

Kelleher’s outfield abilities showed late in the game as he cleared a number of balls over the top, which were intended for a charging Timo Werner. He also worked well with the Liverpool back four to collect passes, prevent corners, and kickstart their attacks.

He had to watch late in the game as The Reds had a flurry of chances, which a scrambling Chelsea defence cleared. One of those, a free header from Virgil van Dijk, was flicked down towards goal and it needed a stretched hand from Mendy to keep it out.

Kelleher’s big moment came in the dying seconds of injury time after Marcos Alonso squeezed the ball across the box. Romelu Lukaku was at the near post and he flicked it back, and the Cork-man stopped it on the line.

The first period of extra-time was quite for Kelleher and at the start of the second half, be breathed a sigh of relief after a goal from Lukaku was chalked off for offside.

In the shootout; James Milner, Fabinho, Van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota, Divock Origi, Andrew Robertson, Harvey Elliot, and Ibrahima Konaté scored for Liverpool. When Kelleher stepped up, he made sure to bury the ball into the top corner. Kepa Arrizabalaga spot kick blazed over the bar.

Kelleher’s next appearance for Liverpool will be on Wednesday night, when Liverpool take on Norwich City in the fifth round of this season’s FA Cup.