Liverpool humiliate hopeless Hammers

Liverpool returned to form in dramatic fashion yesterday as Roy Hodgson's side mercilessly thrashed the hapless West Ham 3-0 at Anfield, with all three goals in the first half securing a vital victory for the Merseysiders that takes us to 9th place in the table, only three points behind Bolton Wanderers, who sit in the final Champions League position.

Goals from Glen Johnson, Dirk Kuyt (penalty) and Maxi Rodriguez effectively sealed the win after 38 minutes as the dominant home side stormed past their opponents with ease throughout the opening period. The Reds remained composed and calm as they professionally saw out the game in the second half without allowing the League's bottom side a way back into the contest.

Jamie Carragher captained the hosts in the absence of regular skipper Steven Gerrard as Carra made his 650th appearance for Liverpool. Somewhat fittingly this landmark feat came against the same opponents he had faced on his first League outing for the Reds 13 years ago.

Liverpool started brilliantly and opened the match with three sights of goal in as many minutes. First, Green easily saved Maxi’s angled shot before the England keeper, who has struggled to recover from a dreadful World Cup, was called into action once again when he was forced to palm away Ngog's low shot after the French striker had comfortably skipped away from Jacobsen.

Maxi almost split the hoardings with a fierce strike from 20 yards after four minutes and a sublime pass from Meireles evaded the entire West Ham defence but was just too heavy for Torres as Liverpool began brightly with the home side's high tempo pouring pressure on the visitors.

Hodgson had decided to revert to a 4-4-2 formation with David Ngog partnering Fernando Torres up front, and this nearly proved successful on 10 minutes when the pair combined well to set up the Spaniard. Unfortunately, his shot screamed wide of the far post from the edge of the area.

Liverpool continued to push forward and purposefully attack the Hammers' defence, and were eventually rewarded after 18 minutes when we deservedly claimed the crucial first goal. The keeper tipped over Meireles’ blast and the resultant set piece was swung into the box, where Johnson cleverly controlled with his chest and powered the ball home right footed from 10 yards out.

It was a fantastic goal from Johnson as England's first choice right back confirmed his recovery from injury by putting in a terrific performance. He attacked with purpose and marauded freely down the right wing, causing worry in the away side's defence and a sense on anticipation on the Kop.

The Reds needed Johnson to display defensive stability as well though moments later when a rare attack from the visitors finished as Johnson's timely header prevented Obinna latching on to a cross.

Torres wasted a great opportunity when he mistimed his volley after the influential Glen Johnson had centred the ball for the Spaniard, however that mattered little as we doubled our lead three minutes before the half hour mark.

An obvious double handball from Gabbidon thwarted Torres as he was about to run through on goal. Thankfully, the referee noticed and correctly pointed to the spot. With normal penalty taker Steven Gerrard watching from the stands, Dirk Kuyt stepped up to comfortably slot the ball down the middle as Green dived to his left. The reliable Dutchman received a thumbs up from Stevie as Anfield's delight at a good display from the home side became apparent.

West Ham's first and only chance of real note arrived 10 minutes before the break when Illunga's cross was headed goalwards by Carlton Cole, who showed why Liverpool were fortunate to miss out on his signing with an anonymous performance.

Pepe made a comfortable save to stop the Hammers striker as Liverpool made the away side rue that miss further when Maxi guided Konchesky's left wing cross past the keeper with a delightful flicked header moments later.

That third goal effectively sealed the points and meant that Liverpool could relax and enjoy the second 45 minutes. The desire to boost our goal difference was significant, however the main priority was to deny West Ham any possibility of getting back into the game.

Hodgson's men fulfilled that task amply with a composed display and, although some will be disappointed at the failure to secure additional goals, the three points were comfortably in the bag.

After 47 minutes Meireles floated a corner in that Johnson nodded wide of target before Liverpool were denied a second penalty when referee Lee Probert failed to recognise Gabbidon's blatant handball as the Welshman blocked Torres' menacing strike.

Just past the hour mark Torres continued his search for a goal when he blasted over after finding a yard in the D. He went even closer with 19 minutes left on the clock as Green made an excellent save to tip Torres' fearsome snapshot against the crossbar.

The ball spilt out to Christian Poulsen on the edge of the box and the Dane, who was awarded a start in the League for the first time since our horror show at home to Blackpool, fired a testing strike goalwards. West Ham's stopper made another great save to keep the score resembling some sort of respectability.

Roy used the remainder of the game to give Babel, Shelvey and Aurelio some much-needed game time. Aurelio, who returned after another frustratingly common injury, particularly impressed and showed his potential with a venomous strike that screamed inches over the bar from range.

It was a tremendous effort from the Brazilian left back that reminded me of ex Red John Arne Riise, who secured a regular place in Gerard Houllier's Liverpool side while also becoming a firm fan's favourite during his time on Merseyside.

Supporters can only hope that Aurelio will now finally put his injury problems behind him and take the position of left back away from Konchesky, who is yet to win over the majority of fans.

Overall the performance from the home side was very impressive. Glen Johnson was sensational at right back, Raul Meireles looked at home in his favoured role at the heart of the midfield and Torres looked hungry for goals once again. Maxi and Kuyt also worked hard on the wings and provided vital width to our play.

Although this win will inevitably generate optimism and confidence within Liverpool's squad, the opposition must be taken into account. Yes, you can only beat the side you are put against, but West Ham at home is a match that we have always expected to win comfortably, particularly considering the fact that the Hammers haven't won at Anfield since 1963.

The real test of our Champions League credentials will come next Sunday when we travel to White Hart Lane to face Harry Redknapp's Spurs side. Tottenham will be flying and full of confidence following their Istanbul-like comeback against Arsenal and will provide stern opposition for the Reds.

With our atrocious away record we can only properly assess our chances of a top four finish in a week's time. Until then, let's hope the confidence engendered from our performance and victory against West Ham will spur us onto victory against their fellow Londoners.

YNWA