Liverpool’s Bad Week
Poor League Performance Combines with Massive FA Cup Scare
Already trailing league front runners Manchester United and Arsenal by a double figure deficit and with a very public rift between the American owners on one side and the manager and fans on the other, what Liverpool really needed were shows of home force in the Premiership against Aston Villa and in the FA Cup versus Havant and Waterlooville – they didn’t get them.
Liverpool 2 v 2 Aston Villa
Liverpool’s seven days of sorrow began on Monday 21st January when they faced Aston Villa at Anfield.
At kick-off time The Reds found themselves a massive fifteen points adrift of the top of the Premiership knowing that they had to take three points from this and their other game in hand to have any chance of challenging for the title this season. More realistically, a defeat of Villa would put some much wanted clear water between the team and one of the gaggle of clubs making strong challenges to do the unthinkable – remove the prospect of Champions League football from Anfield next season.
Things began well enough when, after some good approach play from Dirk Kuyt, Yossi Benayoun followed up his own initial effort to fire Liverpool ahead. With the visitors appearing virtually inert as an attacking force, however, The Reds conspired to miss a number of good opportunities to put the game beyond reach and were then punished by Villa boss Martin O’Neill’s inspired decision to bring on forward Marlon Harwood.
With Liverpool unsettled at the back due to an injury to full back Alvaro Arbeloa, Harwood made an immediate impact with a clinical overhead kick which levelled the scores.
Two minutes later and things got worse for The Reds when they allowed Olof Melberg to drive the ball across their box and off Fabio Aurelio for an own goal.
As Liverpool got increasingly desperate, they finally rescued a point from what should have been a comfortable victory when, in the 88th minute, substitute Peter Crouch showed good balance to drive home from close range.
Liverpool 5 v Havant and Waterlooville 2
After the disappointment against Villa, most Liverpool fans saw their team’s home FA Cup tie against minnows Havant and Waterlooville as a virtual bye into fifth round. In reality what it became was the story of the footballing weekend and almost one of the biggest shocks in the history of the illustrious tournament.
The drama began after eight minutes when poor Liverpool defending from a corner allowed Richard Pacquette to head the side from the Blue Square South into the lead, stunning the Kop and sending the six thousand travelling fans, ten times the number Havant normally get for a home game, into wild celebrations.
The underdogs managed to hold out until the 27th minute when a brilliant curling effort from Lucas brought Liverpool level. Rather than being the signal for the five times European Cup winners to begin dominating proceedings to everyone’s amazement it took Havant only four minutes to restore their lead when Alfie Potter’s shot struck Martin Skrtel and dribbled over the line.
Sadly for the part-timers the fairytale couldn’t quite last until half time as Yossi Benayoun scored possibly the decisive goal of the game in the 44th minute. After the interval Havant continued to work tirelessly but the Premiership side’s quality eventually came through with Benayoun adding two more goals in the 56th and 59th minutes to complete his hat trick and the scoring was finally completed by a late Peter Crouch effort.
