| Saturday 23 November 1985
15:00 Canon League Division One |
| |
 |
|
 |
| "Birmingham
City" |
0 - 2 |
"Liverpool" |
| |
(0-2) |
|
| |
| GOAL |
| |
|
Rush 10, Walsh 26 |
| |
1 David Seaman
- Ray Ranson
- Brian Roberts
- Jim Hagan
- Ken Armstrong
- Martin Kuhl
- Des Bremner
- Billy Wright
- Andy Kennedy
- David Geddis
- Robert Hopkins
Subs:
12 Tony Rees |
|
1 Bruce
Grobbelaar
2 Steve Nicol
3 Jim Beglin
4 Mark Lawrenson
5 Ronnie Whelan
6 Alan Hansen (c)
7 Paul Walsh
8 Craig Johnston
9 Ian Rush
10 Jan Molby
11 Steve McMahon
Subs:
12 John Wark |
| |
| SUBSTITUTIONS |
| Kuhl (Rees ?) |
|
|
| |
| OFFICIALS & BOOKINGS |
| Referee: H King |
| Booked: Hopkins 18 |
|
Booked: |
| VENUE |
|
MANAGERS |
St Andrews (capacity )
Attendance: 15,062 |
|
Ron Saunders (Birmingham C)
Kenny Dalglish (Liverpool) |
 Price: 60 pence
|
|
Liverpool keep up the
pressure
Liverpool's relentless pressure on Manchester United continues. While the League
leaders struggled at Leicester today, Kenny Dalglish's men moved to within two points of
their championship rivals.
The Reds, in outstanding form in recent weeks, took just nine minutes to open up
the home side's defence with Rush claiming his 12th goal of the season after excellent
work by Johnston.
Rush's striking partner Walsh, simply unstoppable at the moment, added a second
midway through the half, and the Liverpool fans took up the chant "We're going to win
the League," when a remarkable half time scoreline from Filbert Street revealed that
championship rivals United were 3-0 down.
It was a cold damp afternoon as the teams kicked off and a loose back pass from
Hansen gave Birmingham an early corner on the left. The ball was worked in towards the
edge of the box, where former Everton skipper Wright, playing in a central midfield anchor
role, hammered a shot wide.
Hopkins, making his 100th league appearance on Birmingham's right flank, was fouled
by McMahon and the home side had another chance to threaten. Hopkins got on the end of the
free kick and once again the resulting shot was off target.
Liverpool grabbed the lead following their first serious attack after nine minutes.
Johnston was the creator, bursting into the right of the box, and crossing hard and low
for Rush to pinch his 12th goal of the season from close range.
The Welsh striker went close to increasing the lead moments later when he turned
quickly before unleashing an unstoppable shot that beat Seaman and rebounded clear off the
left hand post.
Birmingham, in dire need of points in the wake of seven successive league defeats,
were stunned by the solid Liverpool opening. The home side, already without the suspended
Wayne Clarke, could have done without the booking sustained by Hopkins after 18 minutes.
Liverpool remained the more decisive team and increased their lead after 26 minutes
through Walsh. It was the simplest of goals, Molby's accuracy from a free kick on the left
exposing the Birmingham defense and Walsh rising to turn a close range header into the
net.
It was his ninth goal in seven games and the Reds striker is clearly in unstoppable
form at the moment. With Liverpool running the game and their opponents struggling to make
an impression, the Reds continued to move forward and Seaman had to go down quickly to
smother a deflected effort from Molby.
McMahon's skill in the centre of the park was brining warm applause from the
delighted Liverpudlians who had travelled down the M66. One sweeping ball out to the right
maintained the pressure on the home side and a strong shot from Molby was blocked by a
wall of defenders.
Liverpool had never looked in any danger at any stage in the first half and were
maintaining their excellent recent form against Midlands clubs having beaten West Brom,
Coventry and Leicester in recent weeks.
Half-time : Birmingham 0, Liverpool 2.
A surging run from McMahon opened up the Birmingham defence in the opening minutes
of the second half. The midfield man hammered a low shot towards the right hand corner of
the net and it took an outstanding one-handed shot from Seaman to deny the Liverpool
player.
Liverpool were just as sharp in the defence and Hansen showed his quality when he
came in quickly to dispossess Hopkins. As the play moved forward into the Birmingham half,
space opened up in front of Molby and he hammered in a shot that took a deflection and
Seaman did well to save to his left.
A rare home break down the right by Hagan ended with a telling challenge from
Lawrenson and Beglin taking over and pushing Liverpool onto the offensive once more. The
pace and skill of Walsh took him past Hagan to the right of the box and his short cross
almost found Rush in front of the posts but Armstrong conceded a corner.
A foul by Wright on the hard-working Whelan 25 yards out opened up fresh
possibilities, but Molby's free kick was deflected wide. The home fans, who had been
waiting all afternoon for something to cheer, were suddenly lifted when striker Kennedy
skipped past Beglin, but he was stopped in his tracks by another telling tackle from
Hansen.
Birmingham made a substitution, pulling off Khul and sending on substitute Rees.
Grobbelaar had been a virtual spectator but he had to be alert to a curling cross from
Bremner.
A dangerous run by Johnston, took him past substitute Ress on the right, before
moving into the box and trying a shot that was charged down by Seaman.
Nicol who had played so well for Scotland in midweek, exposed the home side with
another pacey run down the right and Walsh actually had the ball in the net only to be
ruled offside.
The McMahon-Molby combination in the centre of the park was highly impressive and
the home side had found Rush and Walsh extremely hot to handle. Molby had always been
prepared to try his luck and he hammered another of those powerful long range shots wide
of the left hand post.
By Ken Rogers of "Liverpool Echo"
Copyright - Liverpool Echo |
