| Saturday 4 March 2006 17:15 FA
Barclays Premier League |
| |
 |
|
 |
| "Liverpool" |
0 - 0 |
"Charlton
Athlrtic" |
| |
(0-0) |
|
| |
| GOAL |
| |
|
|
| |
25 Jose Reina
4 Sami Hyypia
23 Jamie Carragher
21 Djimi Traore
2 Jan Kromkamp
8 Steven Gerrard (c)
16 Dietmar Hamann
7 Harry Kewell
15 Peter Crouch
9 Djibril Cisse
11 Robbie Fowler
Subs:
1 Jerzy Dudek
6 John Arne Riise
3 Steve Finnan
14 Xabi Alonso
19 Fernando Morientes |
|
36 Thomas Myhre
2 Luke Young (c)
3 Hermann Hreidarsson
5 Chris Perry
7 Radostin Kishishev
18 Darren Ambrose
23 Jonathan Spector
8 Matt Holland
20 Bryan Hughes
6 Marcus Bent
10 Darren Bent
Subs:
16 Steve Anderson
22 Chris Powell
14 Jerome Thomas
9 Jason Euell
38 Jay Bothroyd |
| |
| SUBSTITUTIONS |
Hyypia (Riise 46)
Hamann (Alonso 73)
Crouch (Morientes 81) |
|
M Bent (Bothroyd 54)
Kishishev (Euell 78)
Ambrose (Powell 87) |
| |
| OFFICIALS & BOOKINGS |
| Referee: Martin Atkinson |
| Booked: Cisse 66 |
|
Booked: Young 58 |
| VENUE |
|
MANAGERS |
Anfield (capacity 45,362)
Attendance: 43,892 |
|
Rafael Benitez (Liverpool)
Alan Curbishley (Charlton A) |
 Price: J3,00
|
|
REDS HELD TO A
FRUSTRATING STALEMATE
Liverpool moved up to second in the Premiership table but were frustrated not to
have gleaned more from a disappointing goalless draw at home to Charlton Athletic on
Saturday evening.
Like in so many recent fixtures, the Reds enjoyed the greater share of possession
and carved out the better goalscoring opportunities but failed to make their superiority
tell.
Djibril Cisse and Peter Crouch were guilty of spurning the best of the goalscoring
chances, while Robbie Fowler was denied a last-gasp winner for the second time since
returning to the club by a linesman's flag.
To compound Liverpool's misery, Sami Hyypia suffered a hamstring injury that forced
him to be substituted at half-time.
With a vital Champions League tie with Benfica to come on Wednesday, Rafael Benitez
decided to shuffle his pack for the visit of Alan Curbishley's Addicks, making five
changes to the side that had started the last Premiership outing against Manchester City.
Back, after being ineligible last week, came crowd favourites Fowler and Jamie
Carragher, while there were also recalls for Cisse, Dietmar Hamann and Djimi Traore.
Uppermost in the pre-match thoughts of the Kop, however, was former Anfield hero
Gary McAllister, whose wife sadly passed away on Friday, and his name rang poignantly
around the ground as play got underway.
Liverpool were out to avenge the 2-0 defeat inflicted by Charlton at The Valley
just a month ago and they started brightly on pitch that just minutes before kick-off had
been covered in a light dusting of snow.
Kewell was first to try his luck, driving a well-struck shot narrowly wide of the
far post after nine minutes and Fowler quickly followed suit, advancing menacingly towards
goal before unleashing a curling shot that went even closer to the target.
On a bitterly cold Anfield evening Charlton keeper Thomas Myhre was certainly being
kept warm and on the quarter hour mark he was forced into an acrobatic save to spare
Hermann Hreidarsson the embarrassment of scoring an own-goal.
The Reds domination continued and before half-time Myhre was called into action
three more times to keep the Reds at bay, diving impressively todeny Kewell and Cisse
(twice).
It was evident that the game was following the same pattern of so many recent home
fixtures and it was with a sense of frustration that the home side went in at the break.
The visitors will have been glad to hear the half-time whistle but the interval did
little to ease the pressure on their goal. Peter Crouch spurned a glorious chance on
60-minutes when he headed tamely into the keeper's arms from close-range and Cisse drilled
a free-kick wide as the desperation for a breakthrough increased.
Lack of creativity from the midfield was an obvious source of Liverpool's second
half failings and it prompted Benitez to send Xabi Alonso into battle with just under 20
minutes remaining.
Fernando Morientes was also summonsed from the bench as the charges towards goal
became more frantic but the changes were to no avail.
Skipper Steven Gerrard saw a shot deflected narrowly wide and Alonso let fly with a
late strike that flew agonisingly beyond the upright.
With time almost up Liverpool did managed to get the ball past Myhre, Fowler
slotting it through his legs from close-range, but someone was to adjudged to be in an
offside position and the celebrations were short-lived.
It was a moment that summed up an extremely frustrating 90-minutes.
Let's just hope the goals are being saved for Wednesday.
Teams
Liverpool (4-4-2): Reina, Traore, Carragher, Hyypia,
Kromkamp, Kewell, Gerrard (c), Hamann, Cisse, Crouch, Fowler. Subs - Alonso, Dudek,
Finnan, Morientes, Riise.
Charlton Athletic (4-4-2): Myhre, Young (c), Hreidarsson, Perry, Kishishev,
Ambrose, Johansson, Holland, Hughes, Bent, Bent. Subs - Anderson, Bothroyd, Euell, Powell,
Thomas.
Referee: M Atkinson
Conditions:
Attendance: 43,892
Liverpoolfc.tv Man-of-the-Match: Jan Kromkamp
Breakdown
17:16 GMT : Match Starts
1 min : Almost the perfect start for the Reds but Kewell is foiled
3 mins : Kewell wins a corner on the left
3 mins : Charlton struggle to clear and Cisse heads wide
6 mins : Fowler almost gets Cisse in but the pass is just too strong
9 mins : Fowler again looks for Cisse but Charlton clear
9 mins : Kewell strikes a brilliant left foot shot just wide from 18 yards
12 mins : Fowler just fails to control Traore's cross when a chance looked on
13 mins : Fowler nearly scores his first goal of his second coming when curling just wide
from outside the box
15 mins : Myhre makes a great save to prevent a Hreidarsson own goal
15 mins : Kromkamp heads the ball on but it's just too high for Fowler
18 mins : Liverpool have another corner
19 mins : Charlton smuggle Gerrard's cross clear
24 mins : Carragher clears as Darren Bent threatens
27 mins : Charlton force a corner at the Kop End
27 mins : Liverpool clear and Kromkamp wins a throw
30 mins : Liverpool pile on the pressure and a series of Gerrard crosses have Charlton
stretching
34 mins : Gerrard crosses to Kewell's head but Myhre makes another good save
37 mins : Appeals for a penalty as Gerrard's header appears to be handled by a Charlton
defender
41 mins : Charlton threaten but Reina is out well
43 mins : Mhyre makes a great one handed save as Cisse's far post header looks destined
for the net
45 mins : Mhyre makes another brilliant stop from Cisse
18:03 GMT : Half Time Reached
18:20 GMT : Second Half Begins
46 mins : Substitution: John Arne Riise for Sami Hyypia:
46 mins : Liverpool kick off attacking the Kop End in the second half
48 mins : Cisse runs down the right and crosses, but it just floats onto the roof of the
net
52 mins : Cisse wins a corner when his cross is blocked
53 mins : From the corner Riise shoots and Traore deflects it wide
54 mins : Substitution: Jay Bothroyd for Marcus Bent:
57 mins : The attendance is announced as 43892
58 mins : Booking: Luke Young: The Charlton skipper is booked for a foul on Gerrard
58 mins : A good run and pass from Kromkamp gives Kewell half a chance, but he shoots wide
59 mins : Cisse finds Crouch with a fine cross but his header is too easy for Mhyre
64 mins : The Reds have a corner
65 mins : Kewell shoots after collecting a pass from Riise but Mhyre saves comfortably
66 mins : Booking: Djibril Cisse: Cisse is booked for showing his frustration at being
caught offside
70 mins : Kewell wins a free kick in a good position after some good skill
71 mins : Hamann lays the ball off for Cisse, but he drives his shot wide
71 mins : Great defending from Kromkamp as he clears at the far post
73 mins : Substitution: Xabi Alonso for Dietmar Hamann:
75 mins : Another great chance goes by as Cisse heads Gerrard's cross over
76 mins : Nearly a chance for Fowler but he mis-controls when close in
77 mins : Substitution: Jason Euell for Radostin Kishishev:
81 mins : Substitution: Fernando Morientes for Peter Crouch:
82 mins : Gerrard's shot is deflected for a corner
84 mins : Riise blazes over from 20 yards
87 mins : Alonso hits a great shot just wide from 18 yards
87 mins : Substitution: Chris Powell for Darren Ambrose:
90 mins : Fowler puts the ball in the net but he's offside
90 mins : There will be 3 extra minutes
19:09 GMT : Match Over
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