Liverpool's season ended with a wimper as we struggled to a 0-0 bore draw away to already relegated Hull City. In what was clearly an end of season affair, with little to nothing riding on the outcome of the match, both sides showed little desire to take the game by the scruff of the net and claim all 3 points.
The game was starved of goalmouth action, especially in the second half as both sides looked like they couldn't wait to get the last 45 minutes of the season over and done with, and then concentrate on re-building for next season.
It was in many ways a typical Liverpool away performance, as we lacked creativity or any sort of attacking drive. The Reds have managed only a pathetic 18 goals away from home this league campaign, which is completely unacceptable. That measly total is less than Wolves, who have hardly set the world alight going forward, and equal to Wigan Athletic, who are one of the worst sides in the league on their travels. We must improve on the road next season if we are to compete with the top sides once again.
The significant team news came from the substitues bench as 16 year old left back Jack Robinson, who is yet to feature for the reserve side, was selected as one of the seven substitutes.
Worryingly Yossi Benayoun was excluced from the match day squad all together. There have been rumours abounding that Rafa is looking to offload the Israeli in order to raise funds to spend in the summer, and Yossi has recently refused to deny the possiblity that he could be playing his football away from Anfield next year. Whilst Rafa will certainly not want to sell Benayoun, it is a sad fact that he might have to if he is to have any sort of transfer budget in the transfer window, as the club's persistent financial problems continue to hamper the development of the squad.
The fact that he was left out yesterday will do nothing to stop the rumours that Benayoun could be sold shortly.
The Reds started the match on top, and dominated the opening exchanges, however they failed to fashion any serious openings. Midway through the half Nabil El Zhar, who was given a rare start, tested the keeper with a fantastic effort from the edge of the 18 yard box.
The Moroccan controlled a pass from Ryan Babel before skipping past a challenge from a Hull City defender. He then fired the ball goalwards, and Duke had to be on top form to stop the ball screaming into the top left hand corner, by expertly tipping the ball over the bar. It was encouraging play from El Zhar, who is yet to endear himself to the Anfield crowd after a few anonymous substitute performances.
Liverpool went close again from the resulting corner kick, and the lively El Zhar was involved once again. Gerrard's corner kick from the left was punched away by Duke, however it only found El Zhar on the edge of the box. El Zhar's strike bounced into the ground before Kuyt flicked the ball goalwards with his head. It looked like Kuyt was going to break the deadlock, however Boateng was on hand to clear the ball off the line.
After the half hour mark the home side came back into the game, and had a glorious oppotunity to take the lead. Atkinson floated a cross into the box from the right and Mark Cullen had found space between two of the Reds defence. Somehow, Cullen couldn't take advantage of the free header as he headed wide from only yards out.
It was a wake up call for the Reds, as up to that point Hull hadn't threatened Pepe Reina in the Liverpool goal. The Spanish keeper was desperate to keep a clean sheet to claim yet another golden glove, and thankfully he kept another shutout, however he has to share the award with Chelsea keeper Petr Cech after the Czech was a spectator as his team demolished Wigan Athletic 8-0 at Stamford Bridge, a result which hands Chelsea their third Premier League title.
After that, a neat exchange of passes from Liverpool ended with El Zhar's shot being blocked by a Hull defender. The ball landed at the feet of Aquilani. The Italian adjusted his feet before hitting the cross bar with his shot from 7 yards out. The ball bounced out to Agger, who was free in the box yet somehow managed to shoot high and wide when he had an open goal in which to score.
Liverpool went into the second half looking to improve their performance and score a few goals, as a way of saying thank you to the ever loyal fans who had travelled down to watch the match. Unfortunately, the second half display was even worse as neither side looked to have any motivation or desire in what was a tepid affair.
The closest either side came to scoring a winner was on 51 minutes, when both Vennegoor of Hesslink and Cairney failed to capatilise on a great chance to give the home side a massive victory, which would have filled them with confidence and momentum heading into the Championship campaign next year.
Bernard Mendy put a fantastic cross into the box from the right, and the ball zoomed past both Vennergoor of Hesslink, who was tussling with Carragher at the near post, and Cairney, who was stretching to beat the Greek Kyrgiakos at the back post, and went behind for a goal kick.
The rest of the half was a dull and uninteresting affair, and we had to wait until the closing stages for another clear opening for either side. With minutes remaining Gerrard ran with purpose at the Hull backline, easily skipping past an attempted tackle by Mouyokolo. Our skipper then struck goalward, but he couldn't grasp a last gasp winner as the ball struck the post before going behind.
The only other highlight from what was a instantly forgettable second half was a significant moment in Liverpool's history, as Jack Robinson became the youngest player to represent the Reds as the 16 years and 250 days old left sided player replaced Ryan Babel on 84 minutes.
The game was marred at the end as there were nasty scenes as both sets of supporters exchanged angry words. It was understandable though as both Liverpool and Hull fans have had to suffer through awful season's from their respective teams, and the frustrations of an agonising campaign boiled over.
Moreover, Steven Gerrard was mobbed by home supporters who invaded the pitch after the final whistle. As our captain was trying to applaud the loyal away following he had to push away some irritating Hull fans who were surrounding him.
Apart from flashes of promise from El Zhar, and the introduction of Robinson, the only positive to come from this match is the fact that it signals the end of a thoroughly miserable season. We now must rebuild over the summer and start afresh in August.
YNWA
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