Before kick-off Kenny Dalglish had voiced concerns at the close proximity between this fixture and Sunday's Premier League match against Manchester City, with only 48 hours recovery time afforded to the two teams, as City travelled to London as well to face Arsenal. This concern was reflected in the Scot's starting line-up, as he made seven changes to the side, with only Reina, Enrique, Lucas and Henderson remaining from the weekend.
Welsh striker Craig Bellamy, who played with and for Gary Speed, was in tears during an emotional minute of applause in memory of the highly respected former Evertonian. After being excused from action on Sunday to grieve the tragic loss of Speed, Bellamy returned to put in a man of the match performance that Speed would have been proud of.
The opening stages were dominated by penalty box incidents. First, only three minutes in David Luiz powered forward and went down under a challenge from Coates in the area. Somewhat unexpectedly Phil Dowd, who was widely criticised for an inept display, booked the Brazilian defender for diving when Coates clearly made contact with him and it really should have been a Chelsea spot-kick. Soon after, the controversial and colourful character Luiz was involved again as he pushed Carroll in the back in the box. Once again it should have been a penalty but once again Dowd made an incorrect decision.
When Dowd finally made a correct call he was hesitant to do so and required significant persuasion from the indignant Carroll. Enrique's left wing cross was clearly handled by Alex as he challenged for the ball with Carroll and thankfully the referee eventually saw sense and pointed to the spot.
It appeared to be the perfect opportunity for Carroll to restore some confidence and give the visitors the lead, however lamentably the off form number nine fired a poor penalty straight down the middle of the goal and stand-in keeper Ross Turnbull made a relatively easy save. Nevertheless, Liverpool's tremendous 6000 strong support sung, "there's only one Andy Carroll" in support of him after his penalty miss.Lampard's shot from distance was comfortably held by Reina and Enrique's cross shot was easily dealt with by Turnbull, as neither side stamped their authority on the contest. Dowd continued to make embarrassing errors though, this time brandishing a yellow card incorrectly in the direction of young Chelsea left back Ryan Bertrand after his teammate Romelu Lukaku's dangerously high tackle on Henderson had arguably warranted a red card. On the stroke of half time Chelsea crafted their first real opportunity of the match, as the lucky Lukaku rose highest to meet Boswinga's cross and guide a towering header inches wide of the far post with Reina beaten.
The first half had been a fairly balanced but rather dull affair, with few goalscoring opportunities and only contentious refereeing decisions to discuss over the traditional half time pie. If the second period had replicated the first then extra time and penalties certainly seemed to be on the cards.
Thankfully, the game livened up during the second 45 and, although Lampard's free kick rebounded off the bar and caused chaos in the Liverpool penalty area early on, the Reds gained the upper hand moments before the hour mark. Craig Bellamy confidently marauded down the right hand side and squared a perfect pass across the six-yard box to Maxi, who had the simple task of steering home from close range.
Liverpool doubled their lead and Bellamy's assist tally only five minutes later, when the number 39's fantastic left wing free kick found Martin Kelly unmarked at the back post. The 21-year old simply let the ball glance off his head on its way into the net; such was the quality of Bellamy's delivery.Those two goals in quick succession devastated Chelsea's already fragile confidence and left Liverpool in the ascendancy for the remainder of the clash. On 74 minutes former Red Nicolas Anelka was played through on goal but Reina held him up and Carragher eventually got back on the line to clear away the Frenchman's shot. Torres' firm header then forced Pepe into a good save but apart from that the Merseysiders were untroubled and comfortably saw out the tie. In fact, the only disappointment came when Lucas Leiva, who has performed superbly over recent weeks, left the action on a stretcher after suffering a knee injury.
A poignant moment came ten minutes from time when Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt replaced Craig Bellamy. The move was irrelevant tactically and had little bearing on the outcome of the match, but the reception Bellamy received was laudable. The travelling Kop chanted "there's only one Gary Speed" and Bellamy responded with tears and warm applause. The club's anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone" than reverberated around a hastily emptying Stamford Bridge, as our away support showed their undying passion for the umpteenth time.
Unsurprisingly, this victory closely resembled our 2-1 League win at the same ground just over a week ago. Bellamy setting up Maxi to open the scoring and the Reds' right back netting are obvious similarities. Also, Dalglish came out on top tactically once again while, although Carra and Coates had replaced Skrtel and Agger, defensive solidity was retained. Crucially, our fighting spirit and togetherness shone through compared to the disharmony in the Chelsea camp.
Liverpool can be more than satisfied with four points from the League matches versus Chelsea and City, and can now also look forward to a two-legged Carling Cup semi-final which, if the draw is favourable, could see us visiting the new Wembley for the first time.
YNWA
No comments:
Post a Comment