Stoke City 1-1 Norwich City: Loan Watch, Match Report & Press Conference | OneFootball

While the Reds were still over 24 hours away from returning from yet another international break, two Liverpool youngsters were going head-to-head in the Championship.

Lewis Koumas and Kaide Gordon, of Stoke City and Norwich City respectively for the duration of the season, were in action at the Bet365 Stadium and we went to keep an eye on the progress of two of the most exciting young attacking talents to graduate from the academy in recent years.

Signed from nearby Derby County, this was somewhat of a homecoming for Gordon who has one goal in three second-tier appearances so far, scoring on his birthday before the break in a 4-0 win over Hull City.

Koumas meanwhile made a lively start to his spell in the Potteries and heading into this clash had two goals and one assist in 11 outings, operating in a variety of attacking positions along the way.

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There was another start for the Welsh forward while the England youth international was once again on the bench for high-flying Canaries who were looking to force their way into the playoff spots with a win on the road.

Deployed alongside former Everton man Tom Cannon up front, Koumas almost got in behind early on after rolling his defender well on the edge of the box before a crucial intervention stopped the Liverpool youngster in his tracks.

Stoke were soon indebted to Viktor Johansson who pulled off a string of superb saves to keep the score at 0-0 as the visitors ramped up the pressure on the hosts.

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Moments before the break it was Ante Crnac who fired home to capitalise on a bouncing ball that refused to fall to home feet before the Croatian volleyed the ball into the ground and beyond Johansson.

With no time left in the half Milan Manhoef curled the ball home for the hosts to level the score after brilliant work from Koumas got Stoke on the front foot initially.

All square at the break and the intensity going up a notch or two, the game was evenly poised for the second 45 and set up for a grandstand finish one way or another.

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The second half carried on in much the same way with both sides confident of taking the ascendency and the crowd responding in kind. Koumas was a constant thorn in the Norwich side, with his effervescent running and unwavering commitment to the press.

It was another nearly moment for the Wales international when racing clear, seemingly destined to be 1v1 with the Norwich ‘keeper, a through ball was overhit and allowed the visiting stopper to clear comfortably.

With time ticking away, Manhoef had a golden opportunity to lay the ball off to a waiting Koumas who had already tried his luck twice but instead opted to go alone, winning a corner for his troubles but ultimately seeing the Reds’ starlet miss out on a potential last hoorah as he was replaced with just five minutes remaining, receiving a rapturous round of applause from the home support who appreciated his endeavours.

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After the match, we spoke to Stoke boss Narcís Pelach about Koumas’ performance and how he’s impressed so far since the Catalan coach arrived at the Bet365 Stadium…

On his performance: “Very good, he’s eighteen Lewis, just eighteen, he needs to improve his defensive game and we are trying to work on the details because he doesn’t control his steps very well so his defensive positioning is not great but the energy, the speed and the willpower is impressive. I wanted to change him but he kept telling me he was fine and then I saw him cramping. This guy just wants to play the game, it’s nice to see. We need lots of Lewis Koumas’ in our squad and players who if they are not perfect today, it’s fine as long as they work to improve.”

On his impression since arriving: “Honestly, I have to say I am very pleased, it’s not just in the game it’s in the training sessions as well, everything you say to him is a yes, he wants to improve, no excuses, he’s a guy without excuses which in the new generation is very easy, young kids to say ‘ah yeah but…’ Lewis is not like that.”