Sharing of the spoils is usually as inconclusive as sitting on the proverbial fence. Rather than proverbal, we might have seen a legendary moment yesterday as Martin Skrtel scored the first goal for Liverpool after three years donning the red shirt and I wouldn’t be too surprised if it would be the only goal he scores in his whole Liverpool career. At least though, he is not in the Rob Jones mould.
A draw might be inconclusive, a loss of two points might be fatal, when fighting tooth and nail for a title. The thought of a fight for the title at the moment though is as charming as a gal’s toothless grin. In the grander scheme of things, when you are fighting for a fourth-place berth, a draw against a resurgent Manchester City side is not such a bad result, and that’s the stark reality of it all. The expectations are to be alleviated, and in this fight we are to endure, points will be dropped by everyone as teams are fighting in such category because actually they drop a lot of points along the way.
The way the game panned out and even the conclusion of it all, was a mirrored reflection of the season so far. With Steven Gerrard back with the starting eleven, Liverpool started urgently, pressing Manchester City in their own half. After just four minutes, Daniel Agger got knocked out and left on a stretcher with his face bloodied. Ryan Babbel got the nod to start. He seemed intent to make it count this time, making himself available and showing enthusiasm. Nineteen minutes afterwards, he had to hobble away as a two-footed tackle on his ankle put paid to his endeavour. His substitute was no-one less than Yossi Benayoun who later even got on the score-sheet but having only just passed fit after some urgent therapy by a Serb physio, his entrance was on the premature side of things.
The six extra minutes in the first half were a mere formality as by then the urgence in Liverpool’s play has well dwindled and the sanctuary of the dressing room after rain sodden forty-five minutes must have been appealing for the lads.
Five minutes on the clock after the restart saw Liverpool go ahead. It was a free-kick won by David Ngog close to the left touchline. Ngog made himself once again useful even though not having a proper shot at goal in the whole ninety minutes. Gerrard’s delivery was powerful, and penetrating. Skrtel had only to stretch his leg to direct it inside.
Going ahead didn’t improve Liverpool’s confidence much, as they seemed happy enough inviting City in their own half. Pepe Reina was once again commanding, but with a reshuffled back four, getting three points by keeping a clean sheet was a big gamble. Emanuel Adebayor headed home from a corner to put pay on the gamble and soon enough Stephen Ireland put City 2-1 up.
It only took a minute for Benayoun to nip in their six yard box from behind to meet Ngog’s cross and level the score once again.
It actually sounds like a frantic game, but after the shock of seeing a lead being over-turned, Yossi’s goal only brought a sigh of relief rather than celebrations. Liverpool did manage to win a few corners at the end but a winning goal looked as far as does a winning run at the moment.
A draw might be inconclusive, a loss of two points might be fatal, when fighting tooth and nail for a title. The thought of a fight for the title at the moment though is as charming as a gal’s toothless grin. In the grander scheme of things, when you are fighting for a fourth-place berth, a draw against a resurgent Manchester City side is not such a bad result, and that’s the stark reality of it all. The expectations are to be alleviated, and in this fight we are to endure, points will be dropped by everyone as teams are fighting in such category because actually they drop a lot of points along the way.
The way the game panned out and even the conclusion of it all, was a mirrored reflection of the season so far. With Steven Gerrard back with the starting eleven, Liverpool started urgently, pressing Manchester City in their own half. After just four minutes, Daniel Agger got knocked out and left on a stretcher with his face bloodied. Ryan Babbel got the nod to start. He seemed intent to make it count this time, making himself available and showing enthusiasm. Nineteen minutes afterwards, he had to hobble away as a two-footed tackle on his ankle put paid to his endeavour. His substitute was no-one less than Yossi Benayoun who later even got on the score-sheet but having only just passed fit after some urgent therapy by a Serb physio, his entrance was on the premature side of things.
The six extra minutes in the first half were a mere formality as by then the urgence in Liverpool’s play has well dwindled and the sanctuary of the dressing room after rain sodden forty-five minutes must have been appealing for the lads.
Five minutes on the clock after the restart saw Liverpool go ahead. It was a free-kick won by David Ngog close to the left touchline. Ngog made himself once again useful even though not having a proper shot at goal in the whole ninety minutes. Gerrard’s delivery was powerful, and penetrating. Skrtel had only to stretch his leg to direct it inside.
Going ahead didn’t improve Liverpool’s confidence much, as they seemed happy enough inviting City in their own half. Pepe Reina was once again commanding, but with a reshuffled back four, getting three points by keeping a clean sheet was a big gamble. Emanuel Adebayor headed home from a corner to put pay on the gamble and soon enough Stephen Ireland put City 2-1 up.
It only took a minute for Benayoun to nip in their six yard box from behind to meet Ngog’s cross and level the score once again.
It actually sounds like a frantic game, but after the shock of seeing a lead being over-turned, Yossi’s goal only brought a sigh of relief rather than celebrations. Liverpool did manage to win a few corners at the end but a winning goal looked as far as does a winning run at the moment.
posted by jean paul at 11:30 pm
1 Comments:
As always an excellent posting.The
way you write is awesome.Thanks. Adding more information will be more useful.
Bathmate
Post a Comment
<< Home