norwaytips
26 Aug 2006, 11:05 AM
Another frustrating afternoon for me, sitting beside a 'pool friend.
Liverpool, to be fair, dominated the first half, but it was Bobby Z that gave the hammers the lead when a slightly mishit near post cross was helped into the net by the hapless keeper.
West Ham were defending well and the crosses that Liverpool were continuously firing in were generally no big danger. Some long range efforts were all that Liverpool had to offer. Then, in typical West Ham fashion, it happened. Agger, the Dane carried the ball from his own half. No one closed him down until it was too late. He unleashed a cracker from 20 metres or so. 1-1.
OK, I thought we start level for the second half, but Oh no. The Hapless Hammers weren't finished yet. They let Liverpool walk through them. This time Crouch did the finishing and we were 2-1 down. Sh1t. Never mind, I'll have another beer. It's worth mentioning that only seconds before the equaliser, Harewood was wrongly judged to have fouled a 'pool defender and his goal was disallowed.
The second half was, in fact, much better for us. We dominated for long periods and really should have got a second. Yossi was unlucky and Bowyer missed a chance that even Stomper would have put away. No more goals and we lost. On play they maybe just deserved it, but on chances we should have got at least a draw.
Players.
Carroll. Did OK, not at fault with the goals.
Pants. Got better as the game went on. I will get to like him I think.
Gabbinon. Very good game. The odd error, but we all make them.
Anton. Up and down I thought. Some of his passing was terrible, some very good.
Konch. I thought he had a very good day. He seems faster than last year.
Bowyer. Not a bad game from Lee. He combines well sometimes with Yossi.
NRC. Did a lot of running, but no more than average from him. Often did the work and then blew it away with a bad final pass.
Mullins? Never noticed him. Did he play? Probably a good sign. He never did anything stupid, but he should have closed down Agger, and not given him a free shot.
Yossi. I thought he was outstanding. Creative, dangerous and tackled back well. Our best player.
Harewood. He cause the Liverpool defence some problems, but he seemed a bit off the pace sometimes. Bad luck to lose, what was in my opinion, a well taken goal
Bobby Z. What can we say? He scored his fourth goal of the season. Bit of a fluke, but they all count Bobby. Yep he earned his wages.
Subs. Apart from a shot by Cole that was cleared off the line, they never really influenced the game.
Overall we look a fit and talented side. We seemed to expect to loose today, when we could well have won this. We bucked our ideas up in the second half. Hard luck? Maybe, but we have to be more confident in making our own luck. Tony. :)
Last thought. Not many teams get anything at Anfield, but it's about time we did.
Liverpool, to be fair, dominated the first half, but it was Bobby Z that gave the hammers the lead when a slightly mishit near post cross was helped into the net by the hapless keeper.
West Ham were defending well and the crosses that Liverpool were continuously firing in were generally no big danger. Some long range efforts were all that Liverpool had to offer. Then, in typical West Ham fashion, it happened. Agger, the Dane carried the ball from his own half. No one closed him down until it was too late. He unleashed a cracker from 20 metres or so. 1-1.
OK, I thought we start level for the second half, but Oh no. The Hapless Hammers weren't finished yet. They let Liverpool walk through them. This time Crouch did the finishing and we were 2-1 down. Sh1t. Never mind, I'll have another beer. It's worth mentioning that only seconds before the equaliser, Harewood was wrongly judged to have fouled a 'pool defender and his goal was disallowed.
The second half was, in fact, much better for us. We dominated for long periods and really should have got a second. Yossi was unlucky and Bowyer missed a chance that even Stomper would have put away. No more goals and we lost. On play they maybe just deserved it, but on chances we should have got at least a draw.
Players.
Carroll. Did OK, not at fault with the goals.
Pants. Got better as the game went on. I will get to like him I think.
Gabbinon. Very good game. The odd error, but we all make them.
Anton. Up and down I thought. Some of his passing was terrible, some very good.
Konch. I thought he had a very good day. He seems faster than last year.
Bowyer. Not a bad game from Lee. He combines well sometimes with Yossi.
NRC. Did a lot of running, but no more than average from him. Often did the work and then blew it away with a bad final pass.
Mullins? Never noticed him. Did he play? Probably a good sign. He never did anything stupid, but he should have closed down Agger, and not given him a free shot.
Yossi. I thought he was outstanding. Creative, dangerous and tackled back well. Our best player.
Harewood. He cause the Liverpool defence some problems, but he seemed a bit off the pace sometimes. Bad luck to lose, what was in my opinion, a well taken goal
Bobby Z. What can we say? He scored his fourth goal of the season. Bit of a fluke, but they all count Bobby. Yep he earned his wages.
Subs. Apart from a shot by Cole that was cleared off the line, they never really influenced the game.
Overall we look a fit and talented side. We seemed to expect to loose today, when we could well have won this. We bucked our ideas up in the second half. Hard luck? Maybe, but we have to be more confident in making our own luck. Tony. :)
Last thought. Not many teams get anything at Anfield, but it's about time we did.