| Saturday 11 February 2006 12:45
FA Barclays Premier League |
| |
 |
|
 |
| "Wigan
Athletic" |
0 - 1 |
"Liverpool" |
| |
(0-1) |
|
| |
| GOAL |
| |
|
Hyypia 30 |
| |
12 Michael Pollitt
23 Reto Ziegler
16 Arjan De Zeeuw
6 Stephane Henchoz
4 Matt Jackson
27 David Thompson
21 Jimmy Bullard
11 Graham Kavanagh
20 Gary Teale
8 Andreas Johansson
18 Paul Scharner
Subs:
1 John Filan
26 Leighton Baines
14 Alan Mahon
17 Damien Francis
32 Luke Joyce |
|
1 Jerzy Dudek
6 John Arne Riise
3 Steve Finnan
23 Jamie Carragher
4 Sami Hyypia
8 Steven Gerrard (c)
16 Dietmar Hamann
7 Harry Kewell
14 Xabi Alonso
11 Robbie Fowler
19 Fernando Morientes
Subs:
20 Scott Carson
21 Djimi Traore
2 Jan Kromkamp
22 Mohamed Sissoko
9 Djibril Cisse |
| |
| SUBSTITUTIONS |
| Johansson (Baines 84) |
|
Fowler (Kromkamp 66)
Morientes (Cisse 71) |
| |
| OFFICIALS & BOOKINGS |
| Referee: Rob Styles |
| Booked: Thompson 25, Henchoz 28 |
|
Booked: |
| VENUE |
|
MANAGERS |
JJB Stadium (capacity 25,000)
Attendance: 25,023 |
|
Paul Jewell
(Wigan A)
Rafael Benitez (Liverpool) |
 Price: J
|
|
REDS HAPPIER AS HYYPIA
STRIKES
Liverpool got back to winning ways today after Sami Hyypia's first goal of the
season gave them a vital 1-0 win over Wigan Athletic in the Premiership clash at the JJB
Stadium.
The Reds travelled to Wigan desperate to bounce back from a mini-slump that was
beginning to suggest their early start to the season was beginning to take its toll.
Sami Hyypia's 30th minute opener, his first of the season, was the least the Reds
deserved for another dominant first half display.
Rafa Benitez has been lamenting his side's failure to hit the net when they've hit
top gear and the inclusion of Robbie Fowler today, albeit though it might have been
because Peter Crouch was injured, was clearly an attempt to ensure a failure to score
didn't give the opposition the confidence it has been doing.
We'd had just 15 minutes when Robbie almost delivered that much sought after first
goal, not just for him, but in the context of a game. Fowler exchanging passes with
Fernando Morientes before darting into the box and forcing Pollitt into a save as he
connected with Nando's cross with a header that was heading for the corner.
Liverpool have had to contend with some pretty terrible pitches on their travels
recently and it was no different today as Wigan's JJB pitch began to cut up almost from
the first whistle. To their credit though, the Reds weren't about to let that bother them
and they took a deserved lead through an unlikely scorer before half time.
Wigan will have thought they had cleared the danger as the ball drifted area from
their box, but Carragher was there to hook it back into the danger area to find Sami
Hyypia furthest forward; and he beat Pollitt with a low shot to his left.
Whatever Paul Jewell said to his players at half time, Wigan were a different side
in the second half. They came out and gave it a real go and Johansson forced Dudek into a
brilliant one handed save with a firm header on 49 minutes.
Liverpool responded with a good chance of their own when Gerrard forced Pollitt to
save with a good shot from 12 yards, but Wigan continued to cause problems and De Zeeuw
twice had us holding our breath as he powered two headers towards Dudek's goals.
Wigan never came closer to equalizing than in the 57th minute when we almost saw
Sami Hyypia score for both sides. The danger came when Matt Jackson drilled a cross to the
near post and as Hyypia tried to clear, he deflected the ball goalwards and it took a
great save from Dudek to keep the lead.
Liverpool's failure to kill the game meant that we'd continue to be nervous right
until the end, but they should be given great credit for bouncing back today. They might
not have been at the best, but that wont matter when you look at the league table and see
they're still sitting pretty in third.
Teams
Wigan Athletic (4-4-2): Pollitt, Ziegler, De Zeeuw, Henchoz, Jackson, Thompson,
Bullard, Kavanagh, Teale, Johansson, Scharner. Subs - Baines, Filan, Francis, Joyce,
Mahon.
Liverpool (4-4-2): Dudek, Riise, Carragher, Hyypia,
Finnan, Kewell, Alonso, Hamann, Gerrard (c), Fowler, Morientes. Subs - Carson, Cisse,
Kromkamp, Sissoko, Traore.
Referee: Rob Styles
Conditions:
Attendance: 25,023
Liverpoolfc.tv Man-of-the-Match: Jamie Carragher
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