Reds bag three points at the Baggies

Liverpool extended their unbeaten run to seven competitive matches yesterday with a 2-0 win against West Bromich Albion at the Hawthorns. Charlie Adam's controversially awarded penalty gave the Reds an early lead before Carroll's toe poked finish on the stroke of half time secured the three points for the visitors.

Manager Kenny Dalglish paired Carroll and Suarez up front and the duo worked well in tandem, gelling encouragingly and threatening the Baggies' defence frequently. Meanwhile, Agger and Skrtel, who were both making their 100th Premier League appearances, were solid at the back throughout, although they were rarely tested by a poor West Brom attack.

Notably, Pepe Reina captained the Reds for the seventh time as both Gerrard and Carragher were out through injury. However, the last time Liverpool were without the Scouse pair they claimed an emphatic 3-0 victory away at Wolverhampton Wanderers. Additionally, prior to April's loss at the Hawthorns Liverpool had not been defeated by the Baggies since 1981.

As the Merseysiders returned to the Midlands the omens were therefore clearly in their favour. The officials also appeared to be partial to the away side as a hugely controversial spot kick was given in our favour only nine minutes in. Suarez was heading outside of the box when he went down under a challenge from West Brom winger Jerome Thomas. Referee Lee Mason appeared reluctant to point to the spot and required vigorous flagging from his linesman to pluck up the courage to award the visitors an early spot kick.

Charlie Adam stood up and confidently fired into the bottom corner as ex Manchester United keeper Ben Foster dived in the opposite direction.


Although Roy Hodgson and his side complained vociferously, it was clearly a foul in the penalty area and therefore Lee Mason eventually made the right call. The fact that Suarez was beginning to dribble outside of the area is irrelevant.

Liverpool remained in the ascendancy from that point on while Albion, who went into the match on the back of a four game unbeaten streak, failed to get a foothold in the contest and Reina was left as a virtual spectator for large spells. Former Reds manager and current Baggies boss Roy Hodgson was so infuriated at his team's display that at one point he threw his coat down on the turf in disgust as his frustration boiled over. It was an amusing scene for the visiting fans, who regularly bemoaned the 64-year old's lack of passion whilst in the Anfield hot seat.

The spot kick that had given the Reds' the lead may have been debateable, however mid-way through the half another perhaps even stronger appeal for a penalty was ignored by referee Mason. Suarez's cross reached Andy Carroll, whose header goalwards was blatantly blocked by Reid's arm. The proximity of the players may have been a factor in the spot kick not being given, however the referee had a perfect view of the situation and should have recognised Reid's arm moving to block the ball and deny Carroll illegally.

Nevertheless, a sequence of play on the stroke of half time saw Dalglish's side double their lead and characterised the entire 45 minutes. A combination of incisive attacking play from the away side and woefully poor defending from the hosts led to Carroll netting his second goal of the season. Olsson handed the ball straight back to Liverpool from a West Brom free kick and Lucas exploited his error by finding Suarez. The Uruguayan then played in his strike partner Carroll who, despite a heavy first touch that gave Foster a glimmer of hope, toe poked the ball beyond the Baggies keeper and into the back of the net.


It was embarrassingly bad defending from Hodgson's side; particularly considering the former Fulham manager prides himself on defensive solidity. Equally, it was encouraging to see Carroll and Suarez linking up once again and developing their relationship further. Most importantly, the second goal gave the Reds a crucial cushion, which made the second half task of allowing Albion no way back into the encounter much easier. Liverpool have paid the penalty for not extending their lead recently and, had they entered the interval only a goal to the good, then, as the Norwich match showed, a second half resurgence from the home side could have seen yet more points dropped.

Albion's best spell arrived early on after the restart, however the only opportunity they gleaned came when Tchoyi shot marginally wide after Agger had allowed him too much space on the edge of the box. After that, the Reds regained superiority and spent the rest of the match controlling possession and creating chances. On 57 minutes a brilliant block from Olsson was required to deny Suarez after Carroll had passed to him, before Suarez attempted to lob the keeper but he never looked likely to trouble Foster. Carroll and Suarez then combined again and the latter dinked the ball into the back of the net but he was frustratingly flagged offside.

Foster was forced into a fingertip save from Enrique's fiery effort and was also called into action to stop a sweet strike from the ever-improving Andy Carroll, who later shot wide after collecting Suarez's cross. In the closing stages Liverpool hit the woodwork for the tenth time this season, Stewart Downing firing against the post as he looked to round off the game with a third for the visitors.

Had he found the net it certainly would not have been an injustice to the hosts, who deserved absolutely nothing from the clash. In fact, it was slightly disappointing that the Reds didn't add to their lead. Yet again we created chance after chance and failed to really thrash our opponents when we had the opportunity to do so. Nonetheless, a professional performance, two goals, three points and our third clean sheet of the campaign are significant positives to take from the match.

Liverpool sit nicely in fifth position, three points ahead of Arsenal and only one point behind their London rivals Chelsea. This routine 2-0 win may not have been as thrilling as the 5-3 epic played out by the aforementioned London sides, however it keeps us ticking along.

Carry on in this rich vein on form and it is only a matter of time before the goals start flooding in.

YNWA