Liverpool 1 Bolton 0 - Prem (Apr 9 2006)

[TLW]

LIVERPOOL 1 Bolton 0

Report by Dave Usher at Anfield

Scorer(s) - Robbie Fowler Half Time - 1-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Sun 9 Apr 2006 Star Man - Steve Finnan

 

 

 

This was exactly why Rafa Benitez brought him back to Anfield in January. He may not be the quickest, or the fittest, and obviously his best days are behind him, but Robbie Fowler will always be a great finisher. This strike against Bolton was vintage Robbie, and he’s probably the only player at the club who could have put that chance away. With every game he plays it becomes more and more clear that there is no reason whatsoever NOT to give him an extended contract.

Robbie was brought back to the club because we were not clinical enough, and we missed too many chances. If you look at the games he’s played, Robbie actually hasn’t had THAT many chances, but the ones that have come his way have ended up in the back of the net more often than not. He’s scored three, had two chalked off by incorrect decisions, and was denied by a fantastic save by Lehmann. With a little more luck, Robbie could have six or seven goals from as many chances.

If ever a game demonstrated the worth of Fowler to Liverpool, it was this one. We were flat, didn’t play well at all and could easily have dropped two points. Robbie’s predatory instincts and uncanny knack of finding the corner of the net without even looking up ensured we collected maximum points from a dour encounter with Bolton’s bruisers.

Fowler had been one of the few bright spots in a disjointed first half which Bolton started very well and could have gone in front but for a superb stop by Reina. Stelios has probably dreamed about bearing down on the Kop goal one on one with the keeper, except in his dreams he will have been wearing the red of Liverpool and not the white of his present employers. Maybe that’s why his finish seemed to lack a little conviction. Still, it needed a fine save from Pepe to keep it out.

Liverpool settled down after that, but there was something missing from their play. Alonso was playing well in a holding role, but Gerrard was pretty subdued alongside him, which will no doubt add more fuel to the ‘they can’t play together’ fire. I don’t necessarily think they can’t play together, but I do think both play much better when Momo is in there with them.

He was left on the bench for this game to avoid picking up a booking which would have ruled him out of the semi final with Chelsea, so Cisse was handed the chance to build on his encouraging performance at the Hawthorns last week. He failed to do so unfortunately.

I had some sympathy for Djibril, as often he tried to do the right thing but it just didn’t come off. When he gave the ball away it was greeted by a large groan from the crowd, and things just got worse and worse for him as the half wore on. He became frustrated, and at one point he got into a row with Reina after the keeper’s throw sold him short. Cisse wanted it into space to run onto, Reina threw it into his feet and Gardner nipped in to steal the ball. From my vantage point I thought it was Reina’s mistake, but Cisse did himself no favours by not chasing back. It was no surprise to see him replaced by Garcia at half time.

Benitez had surely already made that decision even when the score was goalless, but Fowler’s stoppage time strike didn’t change his mind. It was very satisfying that the goal came in stoppage time which was awarded due to Bolton’s awful time wasting tactics. Every throw in, goal kick, set piece etc saw them take an age to get on with things. We got two minutes, when it could easily have been ten.

Luckily we have God on our side, and he only needed two minutes. Carra played a ball into him, he flicked it on to Crouch who controlled on his thigh and laid it back into Robbie’s path. At this point it wasn’t even really half a chance, as there were several defenders blocking the path to goal, and there was no time to take a touch or even set himself for a shot. But this is Robbie Fowler we’re talking about, and these things are just instinctive to him. With no backlift he just steered the ball into the only place where it could have resulted in a goal. He made it look so easy, when it was anything but. Nobody hits the corners of the net as often as Fowler.

The goal was easily the highlight of the first half, as very little else happened. In fact, aside from the goal the only other thing which stands out in the memory is the bizarre sight of a linesman flagging for offside from a throw in. Bizarre.

The second half was better, especially early on when the reds came out flying. Garcia made a big difference, and Fowler’s goal had given everyone a lift, not least the man himself. His touch and vision created openings for others, and a second goal seemed likely as Kewell and Riise produced a string of crosses from the left flank.

Alonso was denied by a post after cleverly making room on the edge of the box and stroking a left foot shot towards the bottom corner. That chance came after Gerrard had chased down a ball which looked to be headed out for a goal kick, and somehow managed to get a left foot cross into the danger area. It was a fantastic piece of play from the skipper, who was more involved after the break.

Other chances came and went, but as the game wore on it became a bit of a struggle. Bolton bombarded us with long balls, but Carragher and Hyypia stood firm. Both were exceptional, as they have been all season. Our defensive record in league games at Anfield is absolutely amazing. With only one home game remaining, so far only three teams have scored against us. Phenomenal.

That home form has been the main reason for our excellent season. Had it not been for silly points which we’ve thrown away (Charlton and Birmingham at home especially), we’d be doing even better. A lot of teams have problems with Bolton, but we can cope with the physical battle better than most. Considering our season started in July, it’s remarkable how the players are still looking fresh. There was a little spell a few weeks ago when it looked like tiredness was creeping in, but now that we’re back to just one game a week it seemed to have relieved the burden slightly.

Third place looks to be more or less assured now, but even though the FA Cup is now the priority, it’s still important to keep the winning run going and try to win every game. Not only will that mean we’re in position to cash in if the mancs slip up, but it would also give us our biggest points haul in a long time. We could end up with 82 points, which I’m sure we’d all have settled for when the season began.

I went for Finnan as the star man, as he was excellent as usual, although I could just as easily have gone for any one of Carragher, Hyypia, Alonso or Fowler.


Team: Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise; Cisse (Garcia), Gerrard, Alonso, Kewell (Traore); Fowler (Hamann), Crouch: