A world-class wonder goal from Uruguayan centre back Sebastian Coates- his first for the club- gave the Reds a deserved lead, before Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt looked to have secured all three points with a poked finish on his 200th League appearance for Liverpool. Frustratingly, that comfortable lead was unacceptably squandered as Shaun Derry, Djibril Cisse and Jamie Mackie netted to completed a remarkable comeback and claim only their second victory in 17 Premier League fixtures.
Luis Suarez and Martin Kelly recovered from knocks sustained late on in the FA Cup quarterfinal versus Stoke City to start against QPR. Meanwhile, Charlie Adam returned to the starting eleven to partner Jay Spearing and Steven Gerrard in the centre. The former Blackpool playmaker, who has attracted criticism recently, was involved early on in a bright start for the visitors, as his long through ball sent Suarez racing clear of the hosts' backline. The 33-year old keeper saved well as the Reds' number seven attempted to finish.
Downing then threatened to break the deadlock after Kelly had played him in on goal, and it took a great last-ditch tackle from Onuoha to deny him. Liverpool's early pressure also saw them win many corners and on nine minutes Kuyt almost turned in one of those but Joey Barton cleared off the line to retain parity for the under-fire home side.
The opening stages of the first half were controlled and dominated by Liverpool and Cisse's shot that dragged wide after a quarter of an hour was the only sight of goal the hosts had. However, the former Liverpool striker, who is the Lord of the Manor of Frodsham after purchasing a £2 million manor house in Cheshire while on Merseyside, went frighteningly close to giving QPR the lead against the run of play on the half hour mark. His excellent shot from the edge of the area beat Reina and had half the ground up off their seats but it eventually became apparent that the ball had rolled along the back of the net, rather than into the net.
Soon after, Martin Kelly went off injured and was replaced by Sebastian Coates, as Jamie Carragher reverted to right back. QPR's improvement continued heading into the interval, with Diakite's strike flying over from 30 yards out after 44 minutes. Moments before the break, Adam and Traore were involved in a collision and both had to be replaced at half time, the latter by Taiwo and the former by Henderson.
Eight minutes after the restart Coates gave the Reds the lead in sensational style. The ball fell to him from a corner kick and, without a moment's hesitation, he performed an amazing scissor kick that dipped past the helpless Kenny in the QPR goal and into the net.
It was a fantastic goal from Coates, whose reputation amongst Kopites has hence been enhanced exponentially. That goal alone is almost basis to justify his place in the starting line-up on the weekend against Wigan Athletic at Anfield.At that point, the away side were settling comfortably on the ball, passing the ball around positively and retaining ascendancy in the contest, with little significant resistance from the R's. Downing tested Kenny with a rifled shot on 57 minutes, before Kuyt doubled the Reds' advantage just less than 20 minutes from time. At first it seemed as if our old enemy the woodwork would deny us again, as Suarez's shot from the edge of the area rebounded off the post. The ball fell to Downing, whose shot was well saved by Kenny, only for Kuyt to pounce on the loose ball and tap home from close range.
Many among the away contingent expected a comfortable close to the match; perhaps even with further goals from Dalglish's seemingly back on form team. Unfortunately, what actually occurred was a nightmare collapse, as individual errors cost Liverpool dear. Moreover, a huge collective psychological meltdown also appeared to shatter the Reds' confidence.
First, Jordan Henderson, who has recently been relegated to the bench due to poor form, was beaten in the air at a corner by Shaun Derry, who evaded his marker and headed home. Then, Djibril Cisse exploited the fact that the usually excellent Martin Skrtel was out of position to connect with a fine left wing cross and equalise for QPR. Finally, Mackie completed the hosts' comeback and the visitors' capitulation by nutmegging Reina after Enrique's shockingly bad attempt at a clearance, which was so awful that Aurelio should be back in contention for a place in the team to face Wigan next up.
This was our fourth defeat out of the last five League fixtures, and quite possibly the worst defeat as well. To fall to pieces so dramatically after being in such a formidable position is unconsciable. Quite how we managed to lose is baffling in and of itself, and the fact that we did pretty much rings the death knell on our bid to finish in the top four.Shamefully, our simply woeful League form has reduced us to a Cup team. The focus now must be on lifting the FA Cup and taking it back to Merseyside to put alongside the Carling Cup in the Anfield trophy cabinet.
YNWA
No comments:
Post a Comment