[lfc-news] Leaving Gerrard out aids Liverpool cause - Post

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Liverpool Daily Post, 21 April 2005
Leaving Gerrard out aids Liverpool cause
By David Prior, Daily Post

RAFAEL BENITEZ defended his decision to leave Steven Gerrard on the
substitutes' bench as Liverpool ended their dismal run on the road with
a hard-fought victory at Fratton Park.

Fernando Morientes and Luis Garcia secured all three points either side
of a Diomansy Kamara leveller, but Everton's surprise win over
Manchester United leaves Liverpool still three points behind their
Merseyside rivals having played a game more.

The result was earned for the most part without skipper Gerrard, who
despite having missed out on the long trip to Italy last week through
injury, was rested by Benitez.

And the Liverpool manager would not reveal whether his captain would
start against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

He said: "We have a lot of games in a short time and we need to use all
the squad - the most important thing is to have Steve fit for the next
games.

"Maybe he will start against Crystal Palace but I have to check with
other players first to see if there are other injury problems after this
game.

"He wants to score goals and be the best and he's waiting for his
opportunity the next time. We need to protect him.

"We have important players such as Steven and when you must play two or
three very important games in one week, you need to use the other
players because you cannot use the same players all the time, it's
impossible."

Milan Baros returned to the starting line-up after his three-game
suspension, while Djibril Cisse was again only used sparingly as a late
substitute.

Liverpool's win ended their run of three defeats away from home, and
Benitez insisted his main target was still to finish in the Premiership
top quartet.

He added: "It's still our idea to get fourth because if you finish in
the top four then you get in the Champions League. If you lose in the
(Champions League) final, you don't get in. It is important to
concentrate on the games in the Premiership.

"We can't do anything about what Everton do but if they win it of course
makes it a little bit more difficult."

The Spanish manager, who is keeping his squad in the south of England
for the Palace game on Saturday, added: "It was good to win and
especially good to win away.

"We played some good football and created many chances. John Arne Riise
could have had a hat-trick, but you need to take your opportunities or
you can have a surprise right at the end."

Portsmouth had a goal by Lomana LuaLua wiped out by an offside flag in
the opening minutes but TV replays later suggested it was a close call.

After Morientes gave Liverpool a fourth-minute lead, Kamara forced in a
33rd-minute scrambled equaliser.

But Garcia grabbed his 12th of the season with a header in first-half
stoppage time before he was replaced by Vladimir Smicer at the break.

Liverpool clinched their first away win in the Premiership - and only
the fifth this season - since beating Charlton on February 1.

Benitez said: "We need balance in the team and I think we are getting it.

"Djibril Cisse is coming back slowly after a bad injury and Luis Garcia
had a slight muscle injury when he went off for the second half
tonight," he added..

Pompey's new manager Alain Perrin suffered his first defeat as Fratton
Park manager but remained positive.

The Frenchman said: "The game was as tough as I expected because
Liverpool are a strong team.

"We made a few small mistakes in the first half but there was still
plenty of fight and skill among the players and it will not damage them
too much.

"Our goalkeeper made some very good saves but Liverpool needed to take
three points just as much as we wanted to and they came to win. They
were stronger than us."

Perrin was philosophical about the TV evidence that suggeted LuaLua's
early goal should have stood.

He said: "I could not see from my position on the bench whether it was
onside or not.

"But we had problems before the kick-off with Arjan de Zeeuw having
stomach trouble and Linvoy Primus a muscle strain.

"We have to be careful with another big game against Southampton on
Sunday when we have to fight for our fans.

"I saw Southampton fight for a point at Bolton on TV last night and it
will not be easy for us but it is a game I am looking forward to. There
was enough in our performance against Liverpool to keep up our morale."

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