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YOUNG defender Jack Stephens revealed that he “loved every minute of it” as he stood in for Virgil van Dijk in the high-stakes League Cup semi-final second leg at Liverpool.
It wasn’t a night for the faint-hearted, and few would have blamed Stephens, who turns 23 tomorrow, for being overawed by the occasion, as he partnered Maya Yoshida at centre-back in captain Van Dijk’s stead in the memorable 1-0 triumph.
But Stephens produced a stellar display to help send Saints to the Wembley final, and make it five clean sheets in as many League Cup games this term.
“I loved every minute of it,” he said. "Night’s like tonight is why you want to play football and why you work so hard to get to this point, so I just tried to enjoy every minute of it and I did. I loved it.”
“It’s a massive night for the club getting to Wembley to the final,” he continued. “I’m delighted to be a part of it and hopefully we can enjoy the day [the final] and get the win.”
Stephens, who arrived from Plymouth Argyle in 2011, has not played any notable in the first-team until this season.
The Cornishman had previously been shipped out on loan to Swindon, Middlesbrough and Coventry.
But this season under Claude Puel’s guidance, he has become a real option for the first-team, making his sixth appearance of this term at Anfield.
“I’ve been here all season working hard, waiting for my chance,” he said. "I’ve had to be patient and I feel like I’ve taken each game as it comes when I’ve got the opportunity.
“Tonight was just the same, I wanted to treat it like a normal game and just play my normal game and not get too overawed with the occasion.”
Saints were followed to Anfield by more than 3,000 supporters, who Stephens believes had a big impact on the outcome of the match.
“When we ran out of the tunnel at beginning of the game we could hear the Saints fans straight away, so that’s a big help in itself and they’ve carried us over the line really,” he said.
“Everyone did their part and put a shift in, especially second-half,” he added, referring to Saints’ display at Liverpool. “It was a really battle, but we created chance, so it’s more than deserved.”
When Shane Long hit home to seal a 1-0 win and send Saints to Wembley, Stephens sprinted the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the Saints fans.
“I just ran. I just ran as fast as I could to get to them and it was massive relief because we knew they then had to score two to get it to extra-time,” he said.
Saints have kept a clean-sheet in each of their five games in this season’s League Cup.
“That’s massive credit to everyone that’s played in all the rounds,” said Stephens. "That’s not just the back four and goalkeepers that have played, it’s the whole team.
“We work very hard, especially the attacking and midfield players, they work very hard.”
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