Watch: Welsh goalkeeper makes world class wonder save

When Wolves U21s played Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin in the Premier League International Cup this week, young Welshman Lewys Benjamin must have thought he was in for a quiet night.

The Cymru U19 keeper was named on the bench for the game and probably guessed the only thing he would have to stop was getting cold.

However, when the Wolves starting goalkeeper Jimmy Storer was shown a straight red card after just seven minutes, all that changed and Lewys was pressed into action, stepping up a level in the youth ranks.

And what a game the 17-year-old had – pulling off a string of wonderful saves to deny the German side to help his team to a hard fought draw as they progressed for the first time into the quarter-finals of the cup competition.

One save in particular has been shared around social media. It shows the Welsh youngster leaping across goal to claw out what looks like a certain goal from a German attacker. It’s very reminiscent of the famous save that David Seaman made for Arsenal against Sheffield United in the FA Cup, when the England keeper pulled off the same trick.

What a save by Lewys Benjamin! The goalkeeper claws the ball off the line! 👏#PLIC pic.twitter.com/t4jzuFZbd8

— Wolves Academy (@WolvesAcademy) January 17, 2024

Benjamin saves again! This time, Anderson Lucoqui is denied ⛔️#PLIC pic.twitter.com/rtzFaByX7p

— Wolves Academy (@WolvesAcademy) January 17, 2024

Lewys Benjamin is called into action 🧤#PLIC pic.twitter.com/ZgIMXgQT8l

— Wolves Academy (@WolvesAcademy) January 17, 2024

The former Cardiff City youth goalkeeper who was a target for a host of Premier League sides before signing his first professional contract with the Black Country side, rightly earned the plaudits of his manager.

Wolves U21s head coach James Collins, said: “I thought he was magnificent. He was courageous, came for crosses, swept up behind our high line and I thought we did very well with the high line because we knew it would skid through on the icy surface.

“He made three of four really good saves – saves I’d expect him to make but he did make them and made them really well.

“For a young goalkeeper going into that environment with ultras behind the goal screaming at him, I thought he held his nerve brilliantly.”

With Cymru keepers Wayne Hennessey and Danny Ward both in their 30s, the goalkeeping position is one where the national side urgently needs an influx of young stars breaking through.

Lewys certainly looks like one to watch.