Liverpool 2 Reading 0 - Prem (Nov 4 2006)

[TLW]

LIVERPOOL 2 Reading 0

Report by Dave Usher at Anfield

Scorer(s) - Dirk Kuyt (2) Half Time - 1-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Sat 4 Nov 2006 Star Man - Dirk Kuyt

 

 

 

 

 

When you hit rock bottom, there’s only one way you can go - up. Last season, rock bottom for Liverpool was a woeful performance that resulted in defeat at Fulham. We were in a bit of a crisis after that, but from that point on we picked up more points than any other side in the Premiership. Let’s hope that Old Trafford was this season’s Craven Cottage, and that from now until May we can repeat the kind of results we achieved last season.

Four successive wins since the Old Trafford humiliation suggest that we did ‘bottom out’ that day, and are now back on track. Of course, all four of those wins have been at home, where we don’t have too many problems anyway. We’ll need to win a couple of away games before we can truly compare things to last season, but we’ve got three in a row coming up now so we won’t have to wait long before finding out if history is indeed repeating itself.

Reading have had a decent start to their first season in the top flight, but I have to say I never gave them even the faintest hope of getting anything from this game. Our home record is exceptional, and there have been some encouraging signs of the side coming into form this last week or so, especially the captain. Whilst we have shown that we can win without him, it’s a fact that if Steven Gerrard plays well we are a much stronger looking team.

He was back in the centre for this game, as Momo was benched to avoid picking up a booking that would have ruled him out of next weekend’s trip to Arsenal. Much is made of Gerrard having to play ‘out of position’ on the right, but the funny thing is that he did pretty much the same thing in this game as he does when he starts on the right. Basically, he does his own thing, going where he wants when he wants. He did it against Reading from a central starting position, just like he did it against Villa last when starting on the right.

Against poorer sides he can play in the centre and have a free role, but against stronger opposition we need the insurance policy of Sissoko in there too. Reading’s lack of ambition meant that the back four didn’t need much protection. They only had one forward to deal with, so more often than not either Carra or Sami would step into midfield to give us the extra man in there and Gerrard went wandering.

Garcia would have had a field day had he been fit for this one. These are exactly the kind of games he shines in. Zenden is a steady player, but he’s not the creative force that little Luis is, and as a result not too much service came from the left flank, as Riise was fairly subdued too in the first half.

Crouch and Kuyt were both in good form and if enough crosses come into the box they will be a handful for anybody. The opening goal was so simple, but so clinical. Gerrard was allowed time on the ball, and he spotted Crouch pulling away to the back post. He picked him out, Crouch nodded it across goal to his strike partner, and Kuyt slid the ball into the net.

It’s difficult to know what Reading could have done to stop it. In fact, it’s something we should try and do a lot more because how do you stop Crouch winning the knock down? He’ll win it nine times out of ten, so the key is getting people free around him to pick up the second ball. Kuyt benefited from a similar move last week, only that time it was Hyypia winning the header.

Dirk could have had a hat-trick in the first half, but put a couple of headers wide from decent positions and saw one well saved by the keeper. Reading’s marking was terrible, and whenever the ball went in the box we seemed to be the ones getting a head on it. It was surprising that we’d only made them pay the once, as they looked to be there for the taking.

They offered very little at the other end, but did have one glorious chance when one of their midfielders broke into the box and got on the end of cutback. He should have scored, but Carragher stuck out a leg and made a crucial block. This was his 300th league game, and probably his 3000th block! That was the closest they came to creating anything in the first half.

The second half was more of the same. Liverpool dominating possession, but struggling to kill the game off. Chances came and went, with Gerrard, Kuyt, Crouch and Hyypia all going close, whilst Pepe Reina didn’t have a shot to save. The occasional set-piece - throw ins especially - threatened to prove costly, but for the most part they were well dealt with. Reina flapped at one, and the ball ended up in the net, but it had been a clear foul on the keeper and even with the unpredictable Uriah Rennie in charge there was never a danger of the ‘goal’ being allowed to stand.

Reading looked like a side that just wanted to avoid a hammering. Even at 1-0 down and time running out, they took an age making a substitution. You’d have thought they were leading, looking at the way Sodje casually walked across the field before he was replaced.

The only thing that could have prevented us winning this game was ourselves. We’d wasted a load of chances, and we’ve seen before what can happen in this situation. I was sat in the Anny Road for this game, and I was having flashbacks of the last time I sat there, against Birmingham last season. This game was looking spookily familiar to that one, but thankfully this time we managed to get the all important second goal.

Again Crouch was involved, as he met a left wing corner and sent a header goalwards which Carragher failed to get a touch on. The keeper saved it, but Kuyt squeezed the rebound into the smallest of gaps just inside the post.

Rafa rung the changes, bringing off Crouch for Sissoko, Zenden for Sissoko and finally Gerrard for Fowler. We could have added to the scoreline, and made some inroads into the goal difference advantage the blues have over us. We're still below them in the table, but we're now on the same amount of points. They'll tell you they're having a great season, we'll say we're having a bad time. Yet we've got the same points. I guess it's about differing standards.

If you're used to eating Kwik Save fish fingers, a piece of battered cod from Marks & Spencers will seem like a luxury. If you're a caviar man, and you're given that same piece of cod, chances are you'll be disappointed.

Once we've got the Arsenal away fixture out of the way, there's nothing to fear on the fixture list. The most difficult away games of the season are Chelsea, United, Arsenal, Bolton and Everton. You could maybe add Spurs to that list as we never do well there, but once we've been to Arsenal next week, we'll be favourites for every league fixture we play from now until the end of the season.

There are signs of things clicking into place, but until we've produced some wins away from home we won't know if history is repeating itself and we're going to see the kind of results and performances we did last season. Rafa said we wouldn't see the team at its best until November, so hopefully he was right.

There were a few contenders for the star man. Gerrard was excellent, I thought Crouch played very well with little reward, the defence were all solid and Alonso had a good game once more. I have to go for Dirk though, as he was the matchwinner, and as usual worked as hard as anyone on the field. The partnership with Crouch is looking very promising at home, it remains to been if it will work as well away from Anfield. Maybe we'll need Bellamy's pace, but it's not going to be easy leaving out either one of Crouch or Kuyt on current form.


Team: Reina; Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise; Pennant, Gerrard (Fowler), Alonso, Zenden (Gonzalez); Crouch (Sissoko), Kuyt: