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| Liverpool 2 - 0 West Ham United | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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REDS
RETURN TO WINNING WAYS Goals from Xabi Alonso and Bolo Zenden have given Liverpool three vital Premiership points after they were enough to beat West Ham 2-0 at Anfield today. It was a welcome return to winning ways for Rafa's men after defeats to Fulham and Crystal Palace and they will be pleased with their days work against a West Ham side that came here on the back of some impressive displays. It had appeared that the Reds were struggling to find their rhythm after consecutive defeats this week, but that all changed when Xabi Alonso gave them the lead after 17 minutes. It was a goal that not only brought relief to a packed Anfield, but it also proved to be the catalyst for Liverpool to express themselves and they produced a period of pressure that should have seen them extend their lead. As it was they had to be content with just a 1-0 lead at half time, but what a goal it was that gave them that. The breakthrough came in the 18th minute when Garcia's corner was cleared to Alonso on the edge of the box and he finished with a superb curling drive that was reminiscent of his winner against Sunderland here earlier this season. The Reds emerged for the second half and picked up where they had left off, but try as they might, they just couldn't find a way passed a well organised West Ham defence. The second goal that everyone craved was proving difficult to come by. How we never scored in the 57th minute is beyond me because they did everything but. First Cisse sped down the right before teasing a brilliant pass across the face of the goal. And then from the resulting corner, Sami Hyypia's volley was seemingly goalbound before Konchesky rescued his side with a fine goalline clearance. It took a great tackle from Ferdinand on Morientes to preserve the 1-0 scoreline when he burst into the box. And the Spaniard was threatening again soon after when this time his header forced Hislop into a smart save. But the longer it remained 1-0, the more West Ham believed that they could get something out of the game and they made a positive change when bringing Sheringham on for Etherington after 67 minutes.In the 70th minute Luis Garcia, who was having a fine game, almost brought the comfort that the fans so desired, but his shot was saved brilliantly by Hislop. It looked increasingly likely that if we were to score again it would be through Garcia because he was at the centre of everything. He went close again in 76th minute with a header that looked in until the very second it went wide. Liverpool did finally make the game safe, but they kept us on the edge of our seats until the 82nd minute when substitute Bolo Zenden scored his first goal for the club and made it 2-0. It was fine goal from Zenden as he beat two defenders before drilling the ball into the corner of the Kop net from the left edge. This might not have been vintage Liverpool, but it was a huge improvement after a bad week. And they scored two excellent goals as well as returning to the defensive strength of early season. Teams Liverpool (4-4-2): Reina, Riise, Carragher, Hyypia, Finnan, Garcia, Alonso, Gerrard, Sissoko, Cisse, Morientes. Subs - Carson, Crouch, Hamann, Warnock, Zenden. West Ham United (4-4-1-1): Hislop, Konchesky, Ferdinand, Gabbidon, Repka, Etherington, Benayoun, Reo Coker, Mullins, Bellion, Harewood. Subs - Aliadiere, Bywater, Collins, Dailly, Sheringham. Referee: U Rennie Conditions: Attendance: 44,537 Liverpoolfc.tv Man-of-the-Match: Luis Garcia Breakdown 14:01 GMT : Match Starts 1 min : Liverpool get the game underway 1 min : Repka plays the ball forward towards Hareweood but it rolls through to Reina 3 mins : Riise lunges in on Repka and concedes a free kick on the right hand side for the Hammers 4 mins : The delivery reaches Harewood in front of Reina but he can't make the most of an excellent early chance 5 mins : The Reds counter attack and Cisse breaks down the right before firing high and wide 6 mins : Alonso blasts a left footed volley wide of the target after West Ham clear a corner to the edge of their area 8 mins : Garcia finds space in the area but his left footed effort is deflected away for a corner 11 mins : Benayoun is fouled on the edge of the box giving the Hammers a shooting chance from the free kick 14 mins : Hyypia has to stretch to turn the ball behind for a corner after another West Ham attack 18 mins : GOAL! Xabi Alonso: Alonso curls a shot into the corner from 25 yards 21 mins : Cisse latches onto Gerrard's ball and volleys acrobatically over the bar. All Liverpool now 27 mins : The ball falls nicely for Garcia on his right foot but he can't beat Hislop with a low drive 29 mins : Harewood finds space on the right but drags his shot well wide of the far post 39 mins : Morientes tries to get clear down the middle but is pulled up for a foul by the ref 45 mins : One extra minute to be played 14:47 GMT : Half Time Reached 15:04 GMT : Second Half Begins 46 mins : West Ham kick off at the start of the second half 47 mins : Benayoun requires treatment after being caught late by Alonso 49 mins : Booking: Fernando Morientes: Foul on Reo-Coker 52 mins : Gerrard tries to work a free kick into Finnan's path but West Ham clear the danger 53 mins : Gerrard turns outside the area and fires a left footed shot wide of Hislop's goal 56 mins : Cisse delivers a great cross into the area which Repka turns behind for a corner 56 mins : Hyypia's snap shot inside the area is cleared off the line as the Reds look to add to their lead 59 mins : Substitution: Jeremie Aliadiere for David Bellion: 62 mins : Gerrard tries to slide the ball into Morientes' path but too much weight on it and the chance is gone 67 mins : Substitution: Teddy Sheringham for Matthew Etherington: 67 mins : Morientes connects with Finnan's cross but can't beat Hislop with his downward header 69 mins : Garcia stings Hislop's fingertips with a low drive which is turned away to safety 71 mins : Booking: Steve Finnan: 72 mins : Harewood makes a mess of a chance when he scuffs his kick inside the area 73 mins : Substitution: Boudewijn Zenden for Djibril Cisse: 75 mins : Zenden's teasing left wing cross is headed just over by Garcia 81 mins : Substitution: James Collins for Tomas Repka: 82 mins : GOAL! Boudewijn Zenden: Zenden comes off the bench to slot home our second into the far corner 90 mins : Substitution: Peter Crouch for Fernando Morientes: 90 mins : Two extra minutes to be played 15:51 GMT : Match Over Copyright of Official Site Liverpool FC |
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