As Shamal George embraced his mum Kerry amid the celebrations inside Glasgow’s Hampden Park, the tears started to flow.
It’s been a difficult time for the former Liverpool academy goalkeeper. The worry of Kerry being diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago was followed by a serious groin injury which derailed his career. Last month, he was devastated by the death of his beloved grandad Bill.
After dealing with so much heartache, a welcome injection of joy arrived when George helped St Mirren pull off a shock 3-1 victory over Celtic in the Scottish League Cup final. The 27-year-old shot-stopper is enjoying a productive season-long loan at the Scottish Premiership outfit from English League One club Wycombe Wanderers.
“It was the biggest and the best day I’ve had in football so far,” he tells The Athletic.
“It’s the first major trophy of my career. For it to happen in front of 50,000 fans and to see what it meant to everyone connected with the club was incredible.
“It was mental in the dressing room after, with beer flying everywhere. Then we went into Glasgow for a few more drinks. Some of the boys went out again the day after but I was at home looking after my twins. They keep me busy. It’s full-on. I won’t be having any more. I promise you that!”
Mateo and Alani-Rae, who will celebrate their first birthday on January 7, weren’t at the final but his family were well represented at Hampden Park for an emotion-fuelled afternoon. George pulled off a number of outstanding saves as St Mirren, who are based in the town of Paisley, west of Glasgow, lifted the trophy for just the second time in their history.
George makes a save in the cup final win over Celtic (Paul Devlin/SNS Group via Getty Images)
“My dad, mum, sister, little nephew, fiancee Anna and two close friends were all there,” he explains. “I wish my grandad could have been there too but I know he was looking over me and I know he will have been proud.
“He had been ill for a while but losing him still came as a shock. I carried the coffin at the funeral in Wirral a few weeks ago. It was tough seeing my nan so upset. She had basically looked after him for the last year and a half of his life.
“Bill was a massive Liverpool fan. He was there when I signed my scholarship at Liverpool and I’m pretty sure he was there when I signed my pro contract too. There was a LFC badge in the coffin and ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ was played at the funeral.
“It’s the first time in my life I’ve lost a family member. I’d never experienced grief like that before. One minute, I’d be sitting there happy, the next minute I’d start crying and this sadness would just wash over me. There are still some tough days but, slowly, it’s less painful and together as a family, we’ll get through it.”
After the final whistle, George made a beeline for his mum who was in among the jubilant St Mirren fans. “To see her with a big smile on her face and to share that moment with her was so special,” he adds.
“My mum used to come to Liverpool’s academy every day, waiting in the cold and the rain, taking me everywhere I needed to be. I owe her so much. She’s had some tough times in the last couple of years, but she’s cancer-free at the moment, which is perfect. She’s slowly getting back to her old self.”
Former Liverpool team-mates Curtis Jones and Caoimhin Kelleher got in contact with George to offer their congratulations. There were also calls from ex-Liverpool goalkeeping coach John Achterberg and current under-21s goalkeeping coach Mark Morris.
George, who grew up across the River Mersey from the city on the Wirral Peninsula, spent more than a decade in the youth ranks at Liverpool before being released at the age of 21 in the summer of 2020.
“I joined when I was eight or nine so Liverpool was a big part of my life,” he recalls. “I was playing for a Wirral Sunday League team called Manor FC. My brother’s team were involved in this tournament at Tranmere Rovers’ training ground but their goalkeeper didn’t turn up so they asked me to go in goal. I was only supposed to be there watching but we won the tournament, and I scored and saved the last penalty in the shootout in the final.
“Off the back of that, I got given a six-week trial by Tranmere and within a week they had taken me on. John Achterberg was there at the time. When he went to Liverpool, he took me with him. I owe a lot to John. He believed in me more than anyone. There were a few times at Liverpool as a teenager when it looked like I was going to be released but he fought my corner and showed a lot of trust in me.”
Ex-Liverpool goalkeeping coach John Achterberg was crucial to George’s development (John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
A regular at under-18s and under-21s level, George trained with Liverpool’s first-team squad during Jurgen Klopp’s reign but didn’t make a competitive senior debut.
To many of the club’s supporters, he’s best remembered for his cameo against Huddersfield Town in a pre-season friendly in July 2016. With no more outfield substitutes on the bench after midfielder Lucas Leiva limped off midway through the second half, Klopp brought on an 18-year-old George to play up front with Danny Ings.
“I get reminded about that night a lot! My dream was actually to play in goal for Liverpool, not as a striker.
“When Lucas got injured, Jurgen just turned to me and told me to get ready. At first, I thought he was joking, so I just sat there. Then he turned around again a couple of minutes later and was like: ‘What are you doing? You’re coming on. Get ready!’
“I was blowing out of my ass after five minutes. I remember Loris Karius kicking the ball towards me and it hit me square in the face. My lip was bleeding and Loris was laughing at me.
“I was through on goal at one point but I was gutted the assistant flagged for offside. I had a few good touches and a few bad ones. I went to America with the squad for the pre-season tour straight after the game at Huddersfield. That was another brilliant experience I’ll never forget.”
George playing outfield for Liverpool in a friendly against Huddersfield Town in 2016 (John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Having had loan spells at Carlisle United, Tranmere and non-League side Marine during his time at Liverpool, he joined League Two outfit Colchester United on a permanent deal in 2020. After winning their player of the year award in 2021-22, he moved to Scottish Premiership side Livingston.
“I don’t think you fully appreciate what you’ve got at a club like Liverpool until you go somewhere else. It’s not just the facilities but how well looked after you are,” he adds.
“There’s a period of adjustment when you go from an elite Premier League club to League Two. But I loved my time at Colchester and that club changed a lot of things for me.
“My first year at Livingston was decent but then, in the second year, my mum got cancer. I just wasn’t bothered about football at that time. I didn’t want to play, but my mum insisted I kept playing. My mind was elsewhere most days. She was having chemotherapy and I was stuck four hours away.”
George returned to England when he signed a two-year deal with Wycombe in August 2024, but found himself as back-up in the first half of last season before suffering an agonising injury blow in an FA Cup third-round win over Portsmouth in January.
“My groin came off the bone and that kept me out for five months,” he says. “After working so hard to get fit again, I really needed to play regularly this season to get back on track.
“Stephen Robinson, the St Mirren manager, tried to sign me a few times when I was at Livingston and then last summer he reached out again. He showed a lot of trust in me, given I hadn’t really played for a year. He felt that I could come in and make a difference and I feel like I’ve done that.”
George has proved a big hit at St Mirren, establishing himself as their No 1 with 21 appearances in all competitions this season. He followed up his excellent display in the cup final with a clean sheet in last weekend’s league win over Livingston.
With his contract at Wycombe up at the end of the season, his future is uncertain but if he maintains his current high standards, then he won’t be short of offers.
“I’ve already had a few English clubs reach out,” he adds. “But at least until the end of this season I’m at St Mirren and I’m really happy here. I love this club. Whatever happens after this season, St Mirren will always hold a special place in my heart.
“I’m 27 now, so these are the peak years as a keeper that I really need to make count. I just need to keep performing and see where it takes me. I’m just glad my mum convinced me to stick at it.”