Reds go down to Gers defeat

Liverpool’s hastily arranged mid-season friendly match against Ally McCoist’s Rangers ended in defeat last night, as the Reds went down to a Lee McCulloch strike mid-way through the first period. The rationale behind organising a friendly unusually taking place in the middle of the campaign and between two important Premier League fixtures was that it would enable the Reds’ new signings to experience something emulating a European match and prepare them for upcoming seasons when they’ll hopefully be competing in the real thing.

As a result Dalglish, who was returning to his home city of Glasgow, picked a relatively strong starting line up, with the fit again trio of Johnson, Agger and Aurelio claiming a place on the team sheet alongside the likes of Lucas, Bellamy and Carroll, as well as debutant keeper Alexander Doni. Meanwhile, former Gers Charlie Adam and Danny Wilson started as subs.

Unfortunately, Doni was arguably man of the match as the outfield players were understandably disjointed due to rarely playing with each other and Rangers, who remained in the ascendancy until the closing stages, regularly tested the former AS Roma stopper, forcing him to make several saves in order to keep the visitors in contention.

This onslaught began 18 minutes in when a low drive from Ortiz forced the first save of the night from Doni, before Whittaker eased past Coates and tested Liverpool's back up keeper once again shortly after. It was a case of third time lucky for the Gers when the Reds failed to clear a corner, affording McCulloch the opportunity to lash home, which he took all too easily.


Dalglish's defence hadn't learnt their lesson though as there was a big let off ten minutes prior to the interval when Davies unsuccessfully attempted to lob Doni after a long ball from the back took out our entire back line. Going forward we weren't much better either, as the Merseysiders only meaningful sight of goal saw Maxi's effort blocked by the Scottish side's defence.

At the break McCoist made five changes while the visitors remained unchanged, however the pattern of play wasn't altered and the hosts continued to dominate the Reds' poor second-string side. After 56 minutes Doni did well to tip Lafferty's shot onto the post, and also managed to prevent the ball rolling over the line. However, his heroics came at the cost of a dislocated finger, and young Danish keeper Martin Hansen swiftly replaced him.

Just after the hour mark a good chance went begging for the Reds after a mistake from Ross Perry let Maxi in. Unselfishly he tried to release Carroll but unfortunately it was intercepted. Either side of Lafferty hitting the cross bar and Rangers skipper David Weir, who was making only his second appearance of the season, striking a nice volley off target, Dalglish made seven changes, introducing former Rangers players Charlie Adam and Danny Wilson. The Ibrox crowd, who had spent significant sections of the evening booing former Bhoy Craig Bellamy, showed Adam their appreciation of his nine years of service to the club by giving him a warm welcome.

The number 26 inspired a late Liverpool push, as Skrtel knocked down his good ball into the box to Jordan Henderson, whose effort was deflected wide. The resulting corner was header over by Carroll. The tall Geordie than tumbled over in the box but his cries for a penalty fell on deaf ears, as the Reds' brief resurgence towards the end proved fruitless and couldn't rectify their earlier errors.

Overall this friendly, designed to allow youngsters and players on the fringe of the first team to stake a claim for a starting place, will be quickly forgotten as nobody performed well enough to give Kenny a selection headache ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash at home to Norwich City.

For cash-strapped Rangers the revenue generated from attracting a crowd of over 27,000 will be the main positive from the match. For Liverpool a greater sense of perspective should be acquired. As the footballing world concentrated on the two Manchester clubs competing in the Champions League, this contest scarcely received a mention in the national media. While those up the M62 were dining at the top table of European football, we were succumbing to a disappointing friendly defeat. How far we fell under Hodgson and during Rafa's final year was re-emphasised last night.

The need to qualify for Europe next season could not be more apparent, if only to avoid arranging another meaningless mid-season friendly.

YNWA