Liverpool 3 Spurs 0 - Prem (Sep 23 2006)

[TLW]

LIVERPOOL 3 Tottenham 0

Report by Dave Usher at Anfield

Scorer(s) - Mark Gonzalez, Dirk Kuyt, John Arne Riise Half Time - 0-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Sat 23 Sep 2006 Star Man - Steven Gerrard

 

 

 

 

There’s a very fine line between success and failure, and the reds have trod on both sides of it in recent weeks. Defeats at Goodison and Stamford Bridge came despite Liverpool creating far more chances than their opponents, and the lesson from those games were that you must take gilt edged opportunites when they come along. Games are won and lost on little incidents, as Spurs found out to their cost at Anfield.

For much of this game, the North Londoners more than matched the reds. They were well organised, especially in midfield where Murphy and Zakora sat tight on Alonso and Sissoko. That meant that Liverpool had to try and make the play from the back. Instead of having Alonso feeding the frontmen, Agger and Hyypia were often forced to do so.

Spurs’ set out to frustrate Liverpool, and hopefully take any chances that came their way. It was going well for them, right until the moment the hugely over-rated Jermaine Jenas sidefooted wide of an open goal from five yards out. Up until that moment, Spurs would have been delighted with how things had gone. Had Jenas took the chance, it could have been a much different story. He didn’t, and Spurs suffered the misfortune which had befell Rafa Benitez’s side against Everton and Chelsea.

You have to take your chances, or you will pay the price. Spurs didn’t take the most golden of opportunities, and within seconds they paid the ultimate price, as they conceded at the other end. The goal lifted the reds, and the margin of victory was much wider than the balance of play reflected.

We’ll take that though, having not got what we deserved from some of our recent fixtures this has helped to restore the balance somewhat.

The first half was a very even contest, but there weren’t too many clear chances. Bellamy had a decent chance when a swift counter attack ended with Gonzalez cleverly flicking the ball into the Welshman’s path, but Robinson made a great save to turn his shot wide. It was a good effort from Bellamy, but nothing is happening for him in front of goal at the moment.

The closest we came to a goal in the first half was when Chimbonda headed against his own post. At least that’s what I’ve read, at the time I thought it was a shot by Agger! In my defence, it was at the opposite end to where I sit, and there is also a big post in the way. Whoever it came off, that’s seven times in the last five games the woodwork has foiled us.

Spurs had looked bright in midfield but lightweight in attack. Defoe was lively and worked hard, but Keane was hardly in it. Murphy saw a fair bit of the ball, and rarely wasted a pass. He was warmly greeted by the fans, more so than when he actually played for us! He almost created the opening goal when his free kick picked out Ledley King, but he didn’t get anything on his free header and the ball went wide. It was a big let off for the reds, as King should have buried it.

We just couldn’t seem to get anything going. Kuyt and Bellamy were putting plenty of effort in, but were well shackled by Dawson and King. Bellamy looked to have a good shout for a penalty when he was brought down in the box, but referee Howard Webb immediately signalled that the defender won the ball. From where I was sat I didn’t see him get anything of the ball, but I was a long way from the incident and having not seen it on tv I can’t really comment. A mate of mine was sat in the Anny Road and even he wasn’t sure if it was a pen or not.

Webb actually refereed the game pretty well. He wasn’t looking to hand out yellow cards, and when he booked Sami Hyypia after three or four fouls, he didn’t really have much option in fairness.

Sami was back in the side in place of Carragher, who was rested. That shows just how well Agger has been playing, as right now he’s undroppable. A couple of passes went astray from him in the first half, which is the first time that’s happened all season. I put that down to the added pressure on him to force the play because of how well Spurs stopped Xabi and Momo getting on the ball. Aside from those couple of passes which were intercepted, Agger was excellent once more.

The first goal was always going to be crucial, as the game was so finely balanced and both defences were on top. The second half saw Liverpool pushing hard for the opening goal, and a number of set pieces were forced at the Kop end. Ironically, it was from a Liverpool corner that Spurs should have gone in front.

I don’t remember exactly what happened, but I think the ball was cleared to the halfway line, and a poor header presented the ball back to Spurs. Substitute Edgar Davids was left one against one with Hyypia, and carried the ball forward into the area. I thought he’d go on his own, but he unselfishly cut the ball across the six yard box to the onrushing Jenas, who somehow contrived to put the ball wide. It was a remarkable let off, and one that the reds took full advantage of.

Seconds later, Alonso pinged a pass out wide to Gerrard, who brilliantly beat the full back all ends up before crossing for Bellamy. The Welshman had a simple tap in from a few yards out, but amazingly put the ball against the post. He immediately put his head in his hands, and the next thing he knew the ball was in the net courtesy of Gonzalez. Bellamy belatedly joined in the celebrations, but you could see how disgusted he was with himself. It was a bad miss, and could have proved costly. But it didn’t, so he needs to just forget it. He’s having a barren spell, but it happens to all strikers and it’s only a matter of time until he snaps out of it.

The goal gave everyone a huge lift, as in fairness did the introduction of Garcia for Bellamy. Luis is in good form at the moment, and picked up where he left off against Newcastle. The second goal owed much to his intelligence and skill, as he ignored Gerrard’s run and picked out Kuyt instead. Gerrard had ran offside, Kuyt hadn’t. The Dutchman took a touch to get it out of his feet, and then leathered a shot past Robinson before he could even blink.

It was a great strike by Dirk, and he clearly enjoyed his first goal at the Kop end. He can certainly hit a ball, that’s for sure.

As can Riise of course, and he wrapped up the win in the final minute with a typical long distance strike. By this point, Carragher had been introduced to the defence at the expense of Alonso. Spurs had sent Mido on and went with three up front, so Rafa sent Carra on and went with three centre halves. It was a change made with defence in mind, but our attacking play actually went up a couple of notches too, as Finnan and Riise bombed forward down the flanks.

Had we been playing 4-4-2 at that stage, Riise may not have been as far forward enough to hit the third goal. I really like the look of the side when we play this way, and with three fantastic centre halves at his disposal, maybe we’ll see this system more often? It also offers a solution to the three into two Gerrard, Alonso, Sissoko equation, as all three could fit into that system in central roles.

3-0 flattered us a bit, as the game was even up until we got the first goal. After that we ran riot, and we do seem to be hitting some good form now. The defence has regained it’s solidity, and we’re creating chances galore.

Everyone is playing well, and we’ve got so many players trying to get into the side. Peter Crouch didn’t even get on the field in this game, and the likes of Pennant, Zenden, Warnock and Fowler couldn’t even make the 16.

Picking a star man was tough, but I’m going for Gerrard. The reason being he looked dangerous whenever he got the ball in advanced areas, and it was his brilliance that created the all important first goal. Some have been critical of the captain at times this season, and I’ve heard loads of people saying he’s not in the game enough. I just think maybe some people are expecting too much.

The role he’s playing in means he won’t be on the ball constantly. He may go ten minutes without getting a touch, if the others aren’t getting the ball out to him, or if we are under a bit of pressure. That isn’t his fault, and it’s something I think we’re going to have to get used to. Alonso is the one who is going to be on the ball all the time, and Gerrard’s job is to wreak havoc in the offensive third.

If you look at what he’s done in the last few games, you can see that he is doing his job well enough. He hit the post twice at Goodison and also sent a shot inches wide. He hit the post against Einhoven, and against Chelsea he had two great chances to score after skinning the full back. He played his part against Newcastle, and it was from his wonderful pass that saw Garcia hit the post.

He’ll have games where he is involved more, but his main job in this side is to be a matchwinner, either by making or scoring goals. I think he’s doing that, and even though there may be more to come, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the way he is playing right now.

Riise also had a good game on his return to the side, and Hyypia and Agger did well too. I thought Momo was again slightly below par in possession, but did his usual sterling job without the ball. He had an effective game, but he can play better, as can Alonso. I think Spurs have to take credit for that, especially Zakora who impressed me with his athleticism and directness. At times he out Momo’d Momo, and it’s not often you see anyone do that.

Spurs are a good side, even if they are in a poor run. They are miles better than Newcastle, and gave us a much sterner test, despite the scoreline. The Londoners are experiencing the kind of misfortune that was afflicting us a few weeks ago. Thankfully it seems our run of bad luck has ended, and we’re well and truly back on track now.

Team: Reina; Finnan, Hyypia, Agger, Riise; Gerrard, Sissoko, Alonso (Carragher), Gonzalez (Aurelio); Ballamy (Garcia), Kuyt: