Liverpool 2 West Ham 1 - Prem (Aug 26 2006)

[TLW]

LIVERPOOL 2 West Ham 1

Report by Dave Usher at Anfield

Scorer(s) - Daniel Agger, Peter Crouch Half Time - 2-1 Venue - Anfield Date - Sat 26 Aug 2006 Star Man - Daniel Agger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goals from Daniel Agger and Peter Crouch ensured the reds won the FA Cup Final rematch with the Hammers, but it was new boy Dirk Kuyt that was the name on everybody’s lips at the end of this entertaining game at Anfield. As far as first impressions go, the Dutchman couldn’t have done much better. A goal would have capped it off nicely, but that was the only thing missing from a hugely encouraging debut.

He looks a very, very good player and if this is a sign of things to come then he’ll be a major asset this season. He looks like he does everything well, very much an all round type of player, and he will become a big favourite on this evidence. Actually, he is already if the ovation he got at the end of this game is any indication.

Kuyt was a huge favourite with the Feyenoord fans, and it’s easy to see why. He’s a tryer, he can play, he appreciates the supporters, he looks like Sloth from the Goonies and his name is Dirk. He’s got cult hero written all over him.

As impressive as he was, however, it was Daniel Agger who shone the brightest in this game. The young Dane has been in good form so far this season, and today he was exceptional. Defensively he was solid, but it’s his coolness in possession and skill on the ball which stand out above all else. That, and his long range shooting of course!

It was a strange game this. We played some wonderful football in parts, we were scrappy in others, and although we weren’t exactly hanging on at the end, all it would have taken was for one bit of slack marking at a set piece and we could have dropped two points. That would have been grossly unfair, as we were well worth the win and were unfortunate not to have won by more goals.

In fact, it’s not an exaggeration to say that had we been able to switch the linesmen round in the 2nd half the score could have 6-1. One linesman was very triggy happy, constantly flagging Bellamy offside, whilst the other moron on the main stand side just wouldn’t put his flag up at all. Their ineptitude was more than matched by Alan Wiley, but thankfully their incompetence didn’t cost us.

Wiley’s day started badly when he missed the most blatant of shirt tugs on Peter Crouch in the penalty area. Everyone in the ground could see it, and several of our players who were near to the incident appealed immediately. Wiley ignored the claims, and his afternoon went from bad to worse as he got so many things wrong and infuriated the crowd.

Liverpool had started this game really well. Some of the football was sublime, with Gerrard marauding forward from his central role, Crouch linking the play cleverly and Pennant and Finnan combining well on the right. Garcia was heavily involved early on too, and should have opened the scoring in front of the Kop end but dragged a shot wide.

Then out of nothing the Hammers went in front. Zamora looked to cross from the right, and the next thing I knew the ball was in the net and the West Ham fans were celebrating. It was a weird goal, as initially I thought Pepe had turned it into the side-netting. It was only when I saw the reaction of the Hammers’ fans I knew it was a goal. Having not see a replay of it yet, I’m assuming it was a fluke and Zamora didn’t mean it, but cross or not Reina should have dealt with it better. He doesn’t have the best of luck against West Ham it seems.

As for Zamora, he’s had a great start to the season and is a strong contender to eclipse team-mate Marlon Harewood as the 'best shit player in the league'. They both face stiff competiton from the other Marlon though, Marlon King at Watford who I really like. He’s really good I reckon, for a shit player. They’ll be competing with Rob Hulse for that title. Obviously Juan Pablo Angel is a shoe in for the 'worst good player award', although I’m hoping Michael Ballsack will give him a run for his money!

But anyway… the goal seemed to make the fans and players edgy, and every misplaced pass was greeted with a loud groan from the Kop. Garcia especially seemed to be driving the crowd to distraction with his sloppiness, but more surprisingly Alonso’s radar was way off for a lot of this game. Xabi's form has been patchy so far this season, but form is temporary and all that.

I couldn’t understand the sense of panic and frustration that seemed to be all around Anfield from the moment we went behind. There was loads of time left, and we looked to have plenty of goals in us. We continued to create openings and I just felt it was only a matter of time before we scored, but there was a definite edginess in the stands and it was in danger of transmitting itself onto the field.

Garcia in particular tested the patience of the fans, repeatedly losing possession and then giving away free-kicks as he tried to make up for it. That's Luis though, that's what he does. He'll frustrate and delight, and not always in equal measure.

With half time approaching we were still a goal down, but within a couple of minutes we’d turned it round to go into the break a goal up. Agger’s strike brought us level, and even though this was only the first home game of the season, we will do well to see a batter goal at Anfield between now and May. The young defender brought the ball forward and as the space opened up in front of him he unleashed a thunderbolt with left foot which flew into the top corner.

Agger definitely has that in his locker, as he strikes the ball very cleanly and has a great left foot. He’s very good at free kicks too, but never gets a chance to show it as he’s so far down the pecking order. A couple more strikes like this from distance and he may find that changes.

The goal gave us a momentum, and minutes later Crouch rounded off a great move by collecting Garcia’s astute pass and going around Roy Carroll before drilling the ball through the legs of two defenders on the goal-line for his third goal in three starts this season.

It was typical Garcia. He's always trying things, and more often than not they don't come off, but when they do... No-one is going to change Garcia, he is what he is and I'm learning to accept the bad because the good is often so... well.... good. The ball to Crouch was perfect, and you have to say it made up for the earlier sloppiness he'd often shown.

As for Crouch, there are still people who aren’t convinced by his ability to score enough goals to warrant a regular place in the start, but I’ve done a rough check and if my calculations are correct this goal was his 25th goal in his last 44 games (not starts) for club and country. Is there a striker in the land with a better goals per game ratio than that over this period? Henry probably, one or two other perhaps, but not many. Basically what I'm saying is that Crouchy rules.

Almost immediately after we'd gone in front, Kuyt was summoned from his warm up routine by Benitez, and it appeared he was about to come on even before the first half was out. Rafa had his little bit of paper showing Kuyt what he wanted him to do, but I couldn’t see anyone struggling with injury.

Bellamy was struggling, not with injury but with his frustrations at the officials. He was getting progressively ore irritated as the half wore on, and when Wiley denied him a blatant obstruction on the halfway line I thought he was going to implode. Wiley decided that blowing for half time was the best way to diffuse the situation, but it was always going to take more than that to quieten the fiery little Welshman down. He bent Wiley’s ear all the way back to the tunnel, much to my amusement I have to say. He’s an obnoxious, mouthy little twat, but he’s our obnoxious, mouthy little twat now and I’ve really taken to him.

His constant moaning and arguing with defenders and officials cracks me up, it’s hilarious. He doesn’t just say his peace and then leave it, he just keeps it going and defenders must hate him. I love it though, it’s dead funny. Apparently he’s the same in training, always moaning! God knows what his missus has to put up with.

A fella who sits near me mentioned at half time that Crouch had been struggling a little with some kind of knock just before the break, and that was why Kuyt was ready to come on. So it was no surprise when a little over five minutes into the 2nd half, Dirk replaced Crouchy to a huge cheer from the Kop.

The Dutchman wasted no time in showing what he can do, chesting the ball down and hitting a shot just wide within seconds of coming on. From that moment on he was involved in everything we did. He came deep looking for the ball, and he was also happy to run in behind as well. He won headers, made passes, chased back and made tackles. Basically he did a bit of everything.

He was unlucky with a header which went just wide, and he was denied the goal he deserved by a fine save from Roy Carroll (given an excellent reception by the Kop as he took his place in goal by the way, in stark contrast to the way any ex Liverpool keepers are greeted at Old Trafford). It was the way Kuyt instantly linked up with the likes of Bellamy and Gerrard which provided the most cause for optimism though.

The partnership with Bellamy clicked instantly, most notably when the Welshman had a goal disallowed for offside. It was a wonderful goal too, such a shame it didn’t count. Gonzalez led a charge up the field, and when the ball was played into Kuyt he fed an instinctive little pass into Bellamy’s path and he finished superbly only to be denied by the linesman’s flag.

That linesman must have given Bellamy offside ten times in the second half, and some of them looked very dubious. Needless to say, he wasn’t happy and made his feelings known. Understandable, but not likely to convince the linesman to give him the benefit of the doubt next time.

In contrast, the linesman at the other end ignored several blatant offsides, as well as missing an obvious shove in the back on Alonso which resulted in a corner. Wiley continued to get all sorts wrong, making for a nervy finale to a game in which we should have been out of sight.

I enjoyed this performance though, even if it was flawed in some areas. The midfield didn’t function quite as well as it could have, and Xabi was poor on the day. Maybe he missed Momo, or maybe it was just an off day. Gerrard wasn’t much better either, and often tried to beat one man too many instead of laying it off.

Out wide though we were pretty good, and Pennant impressed once more with his neat footwork and crossing ability. He and Finnan linked very well at times, with the Irish full back excellent both in defence and attack. West Ham appeared to target him with high balls to Zamora at the back post, but Finnan dealt with everything with his customary efficiency.

Bellamy was really lively and worked tirelessly up front. On another day, with another linesman, he could have had two or three goals, but he got nothing out of these officials all day. The best example was when he robbed the full back and set off towards goal before being hauled back. The verdict? Play on of course! The full back, referee, linesman and Anton Ferdinand all copped an earful after that.

The star man was between Bellamy, Kuyt and Agger, but the young Dane gets it as he never put a foot wrong throughout. He defended well when he had to, used the ball superbly and scored a fucking peach of a goal.

It’s so far so good with Agger, but he’ll need to play a lot more games before his defensive capabilities can completely be judged. I like what I’ve seen so far, and hope he can keep up this level of performance. What isn’t in any doubt is the lad’s football ability, and I’d say without any doubt that there is no better footballing centre half in the league. There may be better defenders, but in terms of ability on the ball Agger pisses all over the likes of Rio Ferdinand.

We’ve got so much talent all over the park at the moment, especially up front where we now have an embarrassment of riches. It’s annoying that we seem to have forgotten how to keep clean sheets, but hopefully that problem will sort itself out and we’ll get back to the mean machine we were last season. If we do that, then our new found attacking options should ensure we have a really good season.

Team: Reina; Finnan, Hyypia, Agger, Aurelio; Pennant (Zenden), Alonso, Gerrard, Garcia (Gonzalez); Bellamy, Crouch (Kuyt):

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