[lfc-news] TNS report - PA

PA Sport, 19 July 2005
TNS 0 Liverpool 3 (Agg: 0-6)

Liverpool had to call on skipper Steven Gerrard as they struggled to
break down a brave TNS side in the second leg of their Champions League
first qualifier second leg.

For long spells the Welsh side had performed heroics to leave Liverpool
with faces as red as their shirts.

With Peter Crouch waiting in the wings, Liverpool were humbled and never
able to produce the goal feast boss Rafael Benitez had demanded.

Gerrard came off the bench to score twice in the dying minutes to add to
his hat-trick from the first leg after Djibril Cisse's opener, but even
then it could not take away the glory from the Welsh champions who
played their hearts out and even hit a post, seeing another effort ruled
marginally offside with Liverpool rocking.

Once again TNS' hero was goalkeeper Gerard Doherty, who produced another
string of fine saves to cap his display last week at Anfield. TNS took a
well-deserved lap of honour at the end of a night they will never forget.

Liverpool had left Gerrard and Fernando Morientes on the bench and were
made to toil for long periods by another spirited display by the defiant
Welsh club.

In came Cisse up front, Dietmar Hamann in midfield and Boudewijn Zenden
on the left as Liverpool secured a trip to Kaunas for the second
qualifier next Tuesday after the Lithuanian champions' convincing 8-2
aggregate victory earlier in the day against Faroe Islanders Torshaven.

But TNS were only thinking about their pride and making every last
second of their week in the spotlight one to remember.

They started with confidence, composure and enthusiasm for the ball.
John Toner, a former Anfield trainee, produced movement and pace up
front and Steven Beck - a former Everton youth team-mate of Wayne Rooney
but a die-hard Liverpool fan - found space and time for some neat passing.

Only a crunching Jamie Carragher tackle stopped Toner in the box after a
Martin Naylor pass, but TNS' intent on more attacking than they showed
at Anfield left the gaps. Twice Doherty stopped Cisse in the opening
minutes, needing to dive at the Frenchman's feet after his searing pace
had taken him clear onto passes from John Arne Riise and Anthony Le Tallec.

But TNS were intent on giving Liverpool something to think about. Jamie
Wood got past Steve Finnan and wasted the angle for a shot, and Martin
Naylor raced to the line seconds later to see his cross charged down by
Riise. Liverpool knew they were in a game by now.

Liverpool were being made to work harder than they would have liked,
they lost possession too easily and had Benitez on the line demanding
more urgency.

But after 26 minutes a mistake by Chris King allowed Cisse to send
Liverpool ahead. Zenden's cross eluded King and reached Cisse in the
box, Steve King missed his tackle and the big striker lashed the ball
past Doherty.

T.N.S.: Doherty, Naylor, King, Baker, Evans (Jackson 78), Holmes,
Ruscoe, Beck (Ward 68), Toner, Hogan, Wood (Lloyd-Williams 58).
Subs Not Used: Acton, Wilde, Lawless, Leah.
Booked: none

Liverpool: Reina, Finnan, Hyypia, Riise, Cisse, Le Tallec (Luis Garcia
58), Alonso (Gerrard 67), Hamann, Carragher (Whitbread 53), Zenden, Potter.
Subs Not Used: Carson, Josemi, Warnock, Morientes.
Booked: none
Goals: Cisse 26, Gerrard 85, 86.

Att: 8,009
Ref: Carlo Bertolini (Switzerland).

BENITEZ HAPPY AS REDS PROGRESS

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez was full of praise for TNS goalkeeper
Ged Doherty after his side were restricted to a 3-0 victory in their
Champions League first qualifier second leg.

The Reds won 6-0 on aggregate after recording the same scoreline at
Anfield last week, Djibril Cisse and a late Steven Gerrard brace sparing
Liverpool's blushes at Wrexham's Racecourse Ground tonight.

"We tried and at the end it was a better tempo, the goalkeeper saved a
lot and for us to score at the end was good," Benitez told ITV2.

"Maybe we could have scored some more goals but I am happy with my
strikers, with the work we have done.

"Sometimes you can score, sometimes the goalkeeper makes good saves but
for me the goalkeeper was the best player in the games."

For long spells the Welsh side performed heroics to leave Liverpool with
faces as red as their shirts.

With Peter Crouch waiting in the wings, Liverpool were humbled and never
able to produce the goal feast boss Rafael Benitez had demanded.

Gerrard came off the bench to score twice in the dying minutes to add to
his hat-trick from the first leg after Djibril Cisse's opener, but even
then it could not take away the glory from the Welsh champions who
played their hearts out and even hit a post, seeing another effort ruled
marginally offside with Liverpool rocking.

Once again TNS' hero was goalkeeper Gerard Doherty, who produced another
string of fine saves to cap his display last week at Anfield and even
saved a Dietmar Hamman penalty.

Gerard Doherty admitted the 3-0 scoreline was disappointing after such a
resilient performance.

"I think it was a bit tough, 1-0 or 2-0 would have been a proper
scoreline. They had enough chances but Gerrard came on and stuck them
away for them," the goalkeeper told ITV2."

The penalty stop was the finest of his saves and he said: "Being a
keeper it's never down to a poor penalty, it is always a great save! I
just stood up as long as I could and did well to get down."

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