[lfc-news] Alonso steps up to relieve pressure on Benitez

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Alonso steps up to relieve pressure on Benitez
Liverpool 2 West Ham Utd 0
By Guy Hodgson at Anfield
http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/liverpool/article323382.ece
Published: 30 October 2005
The conundrum that is Liverpool is nowhere near being solved, but one thing
is clear: they will have to find deeper troughs than they have mined
domestically this season before they lose at home to West Ham United.
Harold Macmillan was Prime Minister the last time the Hammers won at
Anfield and Supermac's great, great, great, great grandchild might be in
power before they succeed again. Even that might be optimistic.

Yesterday they met a Liverpool of arguable quality, but the 42 years of
hurt seemed heavier than ever. West Ham did not have a shot on target and
owed the relatively slender margin of the defeat to the even more arguable
quality of the home strikers.

They did not score, but Xabi Alonso and Bolo Zenden did much to lift the
state of semi-siege that had descended on Liverpool after successive
defeats by Fulham and Crystal Palace. It is the first time they have won a
Premiership game by more than one goal since February.

"We played well," Rafael Benitez, the Liverpool manager, said. "We were
compact, kept a clean sheet and scored two goals. We did all the things
people have been asking us to do today."

Nevertheless, the result will have come as a relief. Benitez spent last
week dismissing talk of crisis but the Liverpool Echo did poll its readers
asking what is wrong at Anfield. The manager's response was to drop Peter
Crouch (no goals in 11 appearances) but any thought of breaking out the
bunting on the Kop was stifled by his replacement, the equally profligate
Fernando Morientes.

The emphasis had to be on the midfield players breaking forward to support
Morientes and Djibril Cissé and, to be fair to Benitez's team, with Alonso
dictating play and Luis Garcia and Steven Gerrard raiding down the wings
there was a greater impetus to the home side.

Cissé fired wide on a breakaway and Garcia had also gone close within the
first 10 minutes so only a spectator with West Ham inclinations could
dispute the worthiness of Liverpool's opener after 18 minutes. A corner
from the left by Garcia was inadequately cleared by Nigel Reo-Coker to
Alonso, whose swerving shot might have found the back of the net anyway,
but the matter was put beyond dispute when the ball deflected off Tomas
Repka's head.

Gerrard fired by a post just after half-time and Liverpool went even closer
after 57 minutes when Hyypia contrived an ungainly shot from a corner only
for Paul Konchesky to clear off the line. The centre-back was doubly
unfortunate because the ball flew up, found the magnet that was Repka's
head, and Konchesky had to clear again.

After that it was all Liverpool. Morientes and Garcia were denied by
excellent saves from Shaka Hislop and Garcia shaved the bar with a header.
But the home pressure was such that another goal was overdue long before
Zenden exploited John Arne Riise's 82nd-minute pass by cutting in from the
left to slide the ball into the corner.

Benitez can look forward to Tuesday's Champions' League match with
Anderlecht knowing his side have found some form, while West Ham are
suddenly looking over their shoulders. Next week's match with West Brom has
increased significance.

The conundrum that is Liverpool is nowhere near being solved, but one thing
is clear: they will have to find deeper troughs than they have mined
domestically this season before they lose at home to West Ham United.
Harold Macmillan was Prime Minister the last time the Hammers won at
Anfield and Supermac's great, great, great, great grandchild might be in
power before they succeed again. Even that might be optimistic.

Yesterday they met a Liverpool of arguable quality, but the 42 years of
hurt seemed heavier than ever. West Ham did not have a shot on target and
owed the relatively slender margin of the defeat to the even more arguable
quality of the home strikers.

They did not score, but Xabi Alonso and Bolo Zenden did much to lift the
state of semi-siege that had descended on Liverpool after successive
defeats by Fulham and Crystal Palace. It is the first time they have won a
Premiership game by more than one goal since February.

"We played well," Rafael Benitez, the Liverpool manager, said. "We were
compact, kept a clean sheet and scored two goals. We did all the things
people have been asking us to do today."

Nevertheless, the result will have come as a relief. Benitez spent last
week dismissing talk of crisis but the Liverpool Echo did poll its readers
asking what is wrong at Anfield. The manager's response was to drop Peter
Crouch (no goals in 11 appearances) but any thought of breaking out the
bunting on the Kop was stifled by his replacement, the equally profligate
Fernando Morientes.

The emphasis had to be on the midfield players breaking forward to support
Morientes and Djibril Cissé and, to be fair to Benitez's team, with Alonso
dictating play and Luis Garcia and Steven Gerrard raiding down the wings
there was a greater impetus to the home side.

Cissé fired wide on a breakaway and Garcia had also gone close within the
first 10 minutes so only a spectator with West Ham inclinations could
dispute the worthiness of Liverpool's opener after 18 minutes. A corner
from the left by Garcia was inadequately cleared by Nigel Reo-Coker to
Alonso, whose swerving shot might have found the back of the net anyway,
but the matter was put beyond dispute when the ball deflected off Tomas
Repka's head.

Gerrard fired by a post just after half-time and Liverpool went even closer
after 57 minutes when Hyypia contrived an ungainly shot from a corner only
for Paul Konchesky to clear off the line. The centre-back was doubly
unfortunate because the ball flew up, found the magnet that was Repka's
head, and Konchesky had to clear again.

After that it was all Liverpool. Morientes and Garcia were denied by
excellent saves from Shaka Hislop and Garcia shaved the bar with a header.
But the home pressure was such that another goal was overdue long before
Zenden exploited John Arne Riise's 82nd-minute pass by cutting in from the
left to slide the ball into the corner.

Benitez can look forward to Tuesday's Champions' League match with
Anderlecht knowing his side have found some form, while West Ham are
suddenly looking over their shoulders. Next week's match with West Brom has
increased significance.

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