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| Derby County 1 - 2 Liverpool | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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DERBY
1-2 LIVERPOOL: THE REPORT Steven Gerrard might not have a white beard, but he dresses in red and may well go by the name of Santa after delivering three points at Pride Park with a dramatic last-minute goal. The skipper helped Liverpool snatch a 2-1 win from Boxing Day 2007 after Jay McEveley equalised Fernando Torres' superb opener. The contest provided another reminder that, with no room for slip-ups going into the New Year, the Reds can't afford to take any fixture for granted. Paul Jewell had feared the worst before kick-off, doubtless aware of the 6-0 drubbing handed out to Derby on Merseyside weeks before his arrival. He'll be proud of the way his side performed, especially during a gutsy second half. Liverpool had totally dominated the opening 45, the hosts not helped by a serious pre-match blow when 'keeper Stephen Bywater injured his shoulder in the warm up. Not a bad Christmas present for his replacement Lewis Price, though: a Boxing Day debut against the 18-times champions. The Wales under-21 international could have been forgiven for wishing he'd kept a gift receipt after only 11 minutes, however, when Torres delivered a Christmas cracker - and not the sort you get in Woolworths. No, this was the kind of festive treat George Gillett and Tom Hicks paid Harrods prices for. It was Ryan Babel who fed the £20 million man 18 yards out before Torres discarded the Derby defence like a piece of yesterday's wrapping paper. First the Spaniard nutmegged the hapless Darren Moore, then he cut inside Dean Leacock before coolly slotting past Price. From there the floodgates could and perhaps should have opened. Babel dragged wide after great footwork in the box. Minutes later Gerrard fizzed one narrowly over, then it was back to Babel, who volleyed over a Riise cross when he should have scored. The Dutchman was enjoying one of his best games since his summer move from Ajax, weaving inside from the right and giving the solid McEveley a torrid time. Things went from bad to worse for Jewell midway through the first half when he was forced to replace midfielder Stephen Pearson with a suspected broken arm. He'd collided with one of his own teammates, Moore. Liverpool continued to probe, though it was sometimes a little too long and hopeful from the Reds. Mind, you know there's holes to be exploited when Jamie Carragher bursts through the opposition defence for a left-footed volley. Was a fifth career goal on the cards? Not this Christmas, Jamie. The travelling Kop smiled en masse as his effort spun harmlessly over Price's goal. Carragher had a new central-defensive partner eight minutes after the restart when the injured Sami Hyypia was replaced by Yossi Benayoun. The Israeli made his way over to the left wing while John Arne Riise found himself in an unfamiliar position at the heart of the Liverpool defence. A period of Derby pressure followed as the home faithful found its voice. Babel wasn't finding the ball as he did in the opening 45, while a concerned Benitez opted to shift Andriy Voronin over to the right. Equally as worrying following recent events were a pair of atrocious tackles, first when Steve Howard acquainted his studs with Carragher's thigh, then when Eddie Lewis lunged in on Liverpool's returning midfielder Xabi Alonso. Riise had to concede a corner on 60 minutes and for a moment Pride Park believed. Then Giles Barnes overhit the kick by a good 20 yards. Still, the midlanders continued to ask questions. And then, on 67 minutes, bingo - their persistence paid off. Benitez will be furious with the way his side defended Lewis's free-kick as the ball ricocheted off a red shirt to the unmarked McEveley. The defender still had work to do to beat the often impregnable Pepe Reina, but the Spanish stopper was given no chance as the ball bulged the bottom right hand corner of his net. Babel made way for Dirk Kuyt as the Liverpool bench attempted to rescue three points from a game that most would consider an away banker. The Dutch striker nearly made the difference with 15 minutes left on the clock when he ghosted down the right to tee up Voronin. The Ukrainian just couldn't find his composure. Gerrard, meanwhile, was everywhere as Liverpool stepped up their endeavours. His chest and volley was the first in a series of long shots which, for a second, had the 3,039 away fans on the edge of their seats. The skipper hit the bar, Fabio Aurelio tested and Alonso twice forced excellent saves from Price, who was turning out to be a secret Santa for the men in white. At the other end Derby came close to stealing it on 85 minutes when Barnes surged unnoticed through the Reds defence to get on the end of a Lewis cross. He headed just over. Then, a revelation. Father Christmas is a Scouser. And his name's Steven, not Santa. The skipper bombed 50 yards down the left, laid it to Voronin but continued his run. When Torres's shot was saved he was there to bang it home. Derby, after a fierce resistance, had been slayed - merry Christmas everyone. Stay logged on to LFC.TV for match highlights on Thursday. Teams Derby County: Price, McEveley, Leacock, Moore (c), Mears, Barnes, Pearson, Teale, Lewis, Howard, Miller. Subs - Earnshaw, Fagan, Feilhaber, Hinchcliffe, Johnson. Liverpool: Reina, Aurelio, Carragher, Hyypia, Finnan, Riise, Alonso, Gerrard (c), Babel, Torres, Voronin. Subs - Benayoun, Itandje, Kuyt, Leiva, Mascherano. Referee: Alan Wiley Conditions: Unavailable Attendance: Unavailable Liverpoolfc.tv Man-of-the-Match: Xabi Alonso Breakdown 15:00 GMT : Match Starts 1 min : Derby get the game underway 2 mins : Price is out quicjly to smother the ball at the feet of Voronin 5 mins : Alonso's driven pass almost finds Torres in space but Derby clear desperately 7 mins : Teale's cross causes confusion before Barnes blasts the loose ball well over the bar 13 mins : GOAL! Fernando Torres: Brilliant solo goal as Torres drifts past two defenders before slotting into the far corner 17 mins : Babel does well to create space down the right but his low shot is driven wide across the face of goal 20 mins : Gerrard is next to have a go and his long range shot is off target. It's all Liverpool at the moment and Derby can't get near the ball 23 mins : Torres threatens to run clear on goal but McEveley does well with a last ditch challenge 24 mins : Riise crosses to the far post where Babel meets the ball with a right footed volley but he can't keep his effort down 27 mins : Substitution: Michael Johnson for Stephen Pearson: 32 mins : Liverpool having no problems at all containing the home side at the moment - it's all one way 34 mins : Real chance for Carragher as Gerrard's corner is floated to the far post but his volley is well over 39 mins : Derby having their first spell of the game but have yet to trouble Reina 45 mins : Reina makes his first save as Lewis drives in a low shot which is well held 15:47 GMT : Half Time Reached 16:04 GMT : Second Half Begins 46 mins : Substitution: Benny Feilhaber for Darren Moore: 47 mins : Riise blats a shot goalwards which is well blocked before it can trouble Price 53 mins : Miller's first touch lets him down in the area as Hyypia is caught out of position 53 mins : Substitution: Yossi Benayoun for Sami Hyypia: 54 mins : Howard catches Carragher with a late challenge and is fortunate to escape a yellow card 55 mins : Substitution: Robert Earnshaw for Gary Teale: 56 mins : Howard steals the ball in midfield but fires wastefully wide. Good chance and sloppy play from Liverpool 60 mins : Riise heads behind to concede a corner which comes to nothing 65 mins : Bad challenge from Lewis on Alonso but no yellow card from the referee 66 mins : We almost add a second as a goalmouth scramble eventually falls to Alonso but his low shot is well held by Price 67 mins : GOAL! James McEveley: Liverpool fail to defend a free kick and McEveley slots the ball home 69 mins : Benayoun glances a header well wide from Gerrard's corner 70 mins : First Booking: James McEveley: Foul on Voronin 71 mins : Substitution: Dirk Kuyt for Ryan Babel: 72 mins : Gerrard drives a low shot wide - good effort from the skipper 77 mins : Earnshaw limps off with Derby already having used their three subs 77 mins : Earnshaw limps off with Derby already having used their three subs 79 mins : Aurelio forces a flying save from Price with a well struck left footed drive 80 mins : Kuyt heads over from Gerrard's left wing cross 83 mins : Great save from Price to deny Alonso a spectacular goal from outside the area 84 mins : Big chance for Torres but the Spaniard drills a volley miles over the goal 85 mins : Miller gallops forward and drives a low shot straight at Reina. Rare breakaway attack from Derby. Surely next goal will be the winner 86 mins : Barnes heads over from Barnes' left wing cross. That was a good chance for the home side 87 mins : Gerrard smacks a shot off the underside of the crossbar as the Reds search for a winner. So close!! 89 mins : GOAL! Steven Gerrard: Gerrard bundles the ball home from close range to win it for Liverpool 89 mins : Substitution: Lucas Leiva for Andriy Voronin: 16:54 GMT : Match Over Copyright of Official Site Liverpool FC |
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