🔴 Blood Red: I scored a screamer at Anfield in front of the Kop and beat Robbie Fowler

Step aside Dominik Szoboszlai, Steven Gerrard and John Arne-Riise, a new wondergoal has entered the hall of fame at Anfield.

Stephen Killen, with acres of space, took a touch, looked up and unleashed a fierce effort into the back of the net in front of the Kop.

That is how it probably would have been described in the Liverpool ECHO. Now, I appreciate that it is a strange way to start the newsletter, but let me explain, and the headline isn’t clickbait, I promise (maybe slightly exaggerated), but let me have my moment in the sun!

On Monday and Tuesday, I had the pleasure of meeting former Liverpool players David James and Robbie Fowler before playing against Fowler with the former shotstopper as my player-manager. This was part of Ladbrokes’ Play on the Pitch.

I can now say I scored a worldie (we all have opinions, I’m saying it’s a cracker) at Anfield in front of the Kop. Hopefully, with the tools of the modern era, the empty Kop end can be transformed to a wild sea of red Liverpudlians as opposed to seats.

Let’s talk about skill level for a second. I’ve played football all my life albeit as a goalkeeper playing at a good level when I was a kid before moving into Sunday league and I did have one season as a midfielder where I won a few awards. So I’d say I was an alright player. In my head anyway, what the feet and body do is another matter; we’re all good dancers until we hit the dance floor aren’t we? For the avoidance of doubt, no, there was no knee injury that stopped me going pro, I can’t use that excuse!

I got back into playing competitively this season, as a midfielder trying to relive that one fruitful campaign of course, but before then, I stopped about five years ago. In that time, let’s say pints and takeaways became more appealing than gyms and runs, so the less said about fitness, the better. Also, they say the camera adds five pounds onto you - I think that might be an understatement.

I grew up trying to emulate Gerrard’s strike against Olympiacos or his volley against Middlesbrough or one of his many power strikes, so to be able to score at the Kop is a dream come true. Now I must admit, I may be blowing smoke slightly and over-egging the pudding, say what you like, ‘goalkeeper was out of position’, or, ‘the other team had an injury’, unbeknownst to me at the time, but as my dad always said, ‘play to the whistle’. And besides, they all count which, for the record books, it did. I mean, just look at that technique. Someone get the lads on Monday Night Football to analyse that. You can have a look at the goal below and let me know what you think, where does it rank among Anfield/Liverpool goals?

But if there was one way to make you aware of the occasion and two former professional footballers’ competitiveness, it was when Fowler, explicitly but jokingly, said: “If you don’t put a shift on, you're getting taken off.” This wasn't just about the experience, it was about winning and to be fair, I hate losing.

Tuesday included a trip to Liverpool’s AXA Training Centre, a team talk/tactics session with your manager and a tour of the facility. To set the scene, walking up the steps at the training ground and through some doors, you reach an open room with more than 18 chairs in front of a screen. As you walk in, you see Liverpool’s first-team training pitch going through its end-of-season work.

After some downtime, it was time to head to Anfield. You have to wonder how the footballers feel, driving down the road, going past the murals of Jordan Henderson, Virgil van Dijk, Ian Rush and Fowler with fans lining the street, filling the air with red smoke. Because as we drove us along that very same road, trodding the same path as the players, on this random Tuesday evening, I was absolutely bricking it.

We walked through the way the players would, off the bus through the doors, through the mixed zone but we stopped off for a quick pep talk from former England cricketer Darren Gough where post-match press conferences take place. We head to the changing rooms, get ready, walk out onto the pitch and to spare the cliches, it’s an absolute beast of a stadium, empty, never mind full.

I tried living in the moment, while filming everything because that's what we all do these days, but I’m sitting here now thinking, ‘how on earth was I there?’ Plus it was still sweltering and the pitch dwarfed any local football pitches I’ve played on, how do they do that 50 times a season?!

Without channelling Mohamed Salah, I won’t say too much or go into too much detail. Let’s say I wasn’t too pleased with the gaffer for leaving me on the bench from the start.

But a goal, a thrilling 7-6 win and a winners’ medal at Anfield and ticking off a bucket list moment - not bad for a Tuesday night.