Liverpool 3 West Ham 0
West Ham started with the same line up for the second game running for the first time in an age.
There was an early scare for West Ham in the 3rd minute when Maxi forced a save from Green from wide right in the penalty area. In the 7th minute Gerrard caught the West Ham defence napping with a quick free-kick form the right wing which saw the ball evade three Liverpool attackers with the defence nowhere in sight.
However West Ham then seemed to settle and on the whole looked comfortable and were even beginning to edge the possession when in the 19th minute Spector made a needless foul on the left. Gerrard again fired in a low, quick free-kick from the Liverpool left and Benayoun got in behind the West Ham defence to chest the ball in from eight yards.
In the 21st minute Cole got West Ham's first shot on target from wide left in the penalty area but Reina made an easy save. In the 28th minute however Liverpool increased their lead when Ngog shot from deep inside the penalty area high into the back of the net.
After that the play was nearly all one way as Liverpool began to pass the ball with confidence. In the 38th minute Gerrard fired a free-kick from just outside the area over the bar. In the 42nd minute Kuyt fired in a long range shot which Green just managed to edge wide at full stretch.
At the start of the second half Zola brought on Franco for Stanislas. However the change made no difference. Liverpool at a stroll took 13 minutes to extend their lead. Again a free-kick from the left wing by Gerrard evaded the whole West Ham defence and Kyrgiakos ran in on the far post, struck the ball which then bounced first off the post and then off Green into the back of the net.
After that it was even more of a stroll for Liverpool. In the 72nd minute Cole was brought off for McCarthy and in the 80th minute Daprela came on for Spector. They were about the only real exciting moves by West Ham in the second half.
The most worrying thing about this performance wasn't that West Ham were so outplayed but the complete lack of passion. It wasn't until the 80th minute that Faubert dived into a tackle and won himself a yellow card. I think any of the other teams down the bottom of the Premier League would have probably come away with a few more yellow cards and have left a few more bruises on the opposition.
posted by Keir Clarke @ 8:26 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Yer a clown.....as if bruises wins points!!
Smart football wins points and against someone like Liverpool you need smarts and tactics not headless tackles that get players suspended etc....
Think before you write!!
lets not forget that the players couldnt fly up there. Maybe if this flying ban persists then we will see the old travel bug eating into performances?
Tactics were not appropriate for this match. Without Parker we were going to struggle against a team of this caliber,even with Torres absent. Was it really worth it to play 4-4-2 under the circumstances? Clearly not,given how little we created up front, and how easily run over we were in midfield . We are not in a position to be trying to play "attractive football" against top sides, especially away from home. What a difference an extra point or two would have made now had we gone to Liverpool,Arsenal,Chelsea and Man Utd with the intent of grinding out a draw,even if it meant playing 4-5-1 and putting 11 men behind the ball. Pretty football is useless if it results in relegation. Especially if you can't even play "pretty football" to a reasonable standard,and if you cannot defend set pieces. Zola is a nice person but he is an ineffective manager. This performance demonstrates this more than any other match this season. Sad,but true
It's not that I want West Ham to start fouling the opposition intentionally I just expect them to show a little passion.
Hopefully the return of Parker will add some iron to the side.
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