The 16-year-old became Liverpool’s youngest ever goal scorer after his winner against Newcastle United last night
Rio Ngumoha celebrates at full-time following his winning goal against Newcastle United last night(Image: George Wood/Getty Images)
Liverpool’s Rio Ngumoha announced himself to the world of football and beyond last night on his Premier League debut. The 16-year-old came off the bench to score deep into stoppage time against Newcastle United at St James’ Park.
Arne Slot’s side had raced into a two-goal lead thanks to goals from Ryan Gravenberch and Hugo Ekitike. And even though they were down to 10-men after Scouser Anthony Gordon was sent off in first-half stoppage time, the Magpies drew themselves level when Bruno Guimaraes and Will Osula struck.
But Ngumoha finished past Nick Pope in the ninth minute of stoppage time to secure his side a 3-2 win. The winner came in the 100th minute and made Ngumoha the youngest goal scorer in Liverpool’s history, and only the second 16-year-old to hit a winner in a Premier League game.
The first to do so was Wayne Rooney when he scored a late winner of his own for Everton against Arsenal in 2002.
Ngumoha was born in Newham in East London and joined Chelsea’s academy at the age of eight before transferring to Liverpool last summer. Despite his move up to Merseyside, Ngumoha is still held in great affection back home.
William Brobby, his former teacher and deputy head of year at Kingsford Community Secondary School in Newham, told SPORTBible that the teenage star surprised his former classmates by making an appearance at their high school prom, two years after leaving them behind to attend the education programme at Chelsea’s training base.
William said: “He came back for his school prom, which doesn’t always happen when kids move on to professional teams – especially if they’ve moved away from London. He took pictures with everyone, and that sums him up as a person. He’s very down to earth.”
William first met Ngumoha when the footballer had a trial at a youth side William was managing. He described Ngumoha as “very polite and shy” who stood out because of his amazing talent.
William said: “That was the first time we met. He came to the trial, and what struck me immediately was his technical ability with the ball. No one could get it off him. He was tricky, skilful, quick and sharp with a low centre of gravity, and he could go both ways.
Rio Ngumoha scored in the 100th minute of the game(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
“On top of that, he could score goals. That was the main thing. He was a goal scorer. There was one game where he scored a hat-trick of free-kicks, which won us the game. His ability from dead balls was outstanding.”
Terry Bobie, his former youth coach at Chelsea’s development centre, spoke about the influence of his brother, James Ngumoha.
He said: “I’d start at four o’clock in the afternoon and finish at eight in the evening. Rio would be there the whole time with his brother.
“Sometimes he’d even step into my cage to join a drill with another kid. What stood out was how demanding James was with him. They argued at times, but it always came from the right place. James saw Rio’s talent and wanted to push him to reach his potential. They worked relentlessly.
“Not many people saw that side of it, but it was every single day for years — week in, week out, day in, day out. From around 2010 all the way until 2018, and the consistency never wavered.”
Former Chelsea youth coach Saul Isaksson-Hurst added: “A lot of his development has to be credited to his brother. He never gave anything other than 100%.”
William Brobby agreed, adding: “His brother put in a lot of work with him, and his mum has been a huge support too. Rio’s got a really strong network of people around him, and that’s made a big difference.”
Despite his dream debut, Ngumoha still feels he has something to prove. Speaking to the LFC website about his winning goal last night, he said: “The fans, I heard them screaming my name and that’s a sensational moment I would say.
“But you can’t get too carried away with all the noise, like I said, because at the end of the day I probably do that finish 100 times on the training ground so it’s no different with the fans [here]. But obviously the fans backing you there, it’s just crazy.
“I’m 16 but I don’t want my age to show that I can’t play with the older players. I want to prove a point that I can play with not just people my age but many ages above.
“But like I said, there are people at the club who are always helping me and I’m always learning and improving, so I can’t complain.”