Liverweb Match Report
Wigan Athletic 0 Liverpool 1
Liverpool : Dudek, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise, Alonso, Gerrard(C),
Kewell, Hamann, Morientes, Fowler
Subs Used : Kromkamp for Fowler (66), Cisse for Morientes (70)
Unused Subs : Carson, Traore, Sissoko
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The Reds returned to winning ways away to Wigan in the days early kick off.
With a couple of better finishes this scoreline could have been bigger and
been fair still. Wigan tried hard through the second half but the Reds dug
deep and took all three points.
Wigan fielded two former Reds in Henchoz and Thompson but struggled to find
strikers due to loan deals, injuries, suspensions and non returning
players. The Reds gave a first start to Robbie Fowler since his return o
Anfield and also welcomed Steven Gerrard back to the midfield.
Wigan got the game underway. The game wasn't exactly free flowing as the
Reds tried to get the game under control from the first whistle. The pitch
cut up quick and made the playing surface very uneven and at times dangerous.
On six minutes Alonso played in Gerrard who chipped a ball to Fowler who
was free in he box. However the ball was blocked and the hand ball shouts
were ignored by Rob Styles. The first action for either keeper came on
fourteen minutes when Fowler tamely headed to he bottom corner of the net.
The save was all too easy for Pollitt. Minutes later and Dudek was out
quickly to clear his lines.
Midway through the half and Gerrard ad Fowler linked up but made a hash of
the final ball to se the chance go missing. Gerrard took the ball off
Fowler and when a shooting chance looked on he tried to pass back to Fowler
but the chance sailed to Pollitt. A minute later and Fowler was put through
the middle but as Morientes also went for the same ball and started from an
offside position the flag was forced to go up and the chance was gone.
The first of two ex-Reds booked came when Davie Thompson was booked on
twenty five minutes for a deliberate trip on Finnan as he looked to break
forward. Just two minutes later Henchoz followed him in to the book for a
clumsy challenge on Morientes who was forced off for treatment.
The free kick awarded resulted in the goal. Hyypia and Carragher went
forward but the initial free kick was half headed clear. As the ball was
pushed out to the half way line it was pushed from Finnan to Carragher.
Jamie then whipped the ball over his head to the area where Hyypia had
stayed and he volleyed home low under Pollitt. The lead was deserved and
for once taken.
The state of the pitch became quite worrying five minutes from half time as
Gerrard started limping. He seemed to go over his ankle a bit making a run
to the line. The Reds had another great chance to score just before the
half time whistle. Fowler moved out left and picked a ball up. He then
crossed the ball to the penalty spot where Morientes came in and volleyed.
Either side of Pollitt was it was a superb goal but it just went to straight.
The Reds got the second half underway and as you would expect the home side
were out of the traps far better in the second half than than the first.
The Reds had been getting to every loose ball quite easily in the first
half and merited their lead. The second half was quite different though.
Just one minute was on the clock when Dudek had to tip a header over the
bar. A great save although the offside flag had gone up anyway. Within
thirty seconds Dudek was again involved. Teale had been identified by Wigan
as the man to attack the Reds by Riise. His cross was punched clear by the
big Pole but he also hit a Wigan player on the way and went down. The ref
blew up and treatment was given to Dudek who managed to continue.
On forty eight minutes Dudek was again forced to tip a header over the bar.
Another Cross from the Wigan right found Johansson free in the middle of
the box but his header was straight at Dudek who tipped it over the bar. At
the other end a minute later Kewell lost his footing just as he was about
to shoot and blazed wide from a good position on the edge of the area.
The Reds tried to get back their domination of the midfield now and on
fifty three minutes Fowler fed Gerrard a ball through the back and his shot
from the edge of the area brought a good save from Pollitt once again. The
game was starting to open up a lot more now. On fifty five minutes Rob
Styles had to hold play up whilst he changed his arm vibrator which had
obviously gone faulty.
Dudek was superb on fifty six minutes in getting down very quickly at his
near post. He was forced in to the save as Hyypia mis kicked a clearance
and it threatened to go in at the near post. Wigan were trying to keep
pressure on the Reds but couldn't quite create that direct opening. De
Zeeuw twice went close with headers but Dudek wasn't tested on either.
The Reds made the first change on sixty six minutes when Jan Kromkamp came
on for Fowler. Fowler had worked hard and made some intelligent runs across
the back line. As his fitness gets sharper he's sure to be found more with
his runs. On seventy minutes Cisse replaced Morientes.
On seventy two minutes it was down to Rafa to show everyone how to bring a
ball down. Wigan cleared the ball from their area and out of play. Rafa was
stood as usual in his technical area and brought the ball down instantly.
It was great skill and perhaps the players should learn from the master.
The best chance for the Reds in the second half came with eleven minutes to
go and it was again Sami Hyypia who had it. He jumped well to head a
Gerrard corner on target but once again Pollitt was on hand to make the
save. Alonso was there ready for a tap in had he fumbled it though.
The last ten minutes saw the game get very stretched and Wigan tried their
best to break the Reds down but we were standing tall and letting nothing
past us. As time ticked right down it looked just as likely that the Reds
would score as it did Wigan.
The final whistle went and the two game losing streak was brought to a halt
with a hard working performance. It wasn't vintage at all but the job was
done which was the main thing. Wigan put up a good fight but ultimately
with so many players out they struggled a little. You can only beat what's
in front of you though and the three points is the most important.
MotM : Dietmar Hamann - a rock as ever in the midfield and showed great
composure at times to break so much of the play up and move the Reds forward.
Match Stats
Wigan - Liverpool
48% Possession 52%
1 Shots On Target 6
4 Shots Off Target 1
0 Blocked Shots 0
4 Corners 3
8 Fouls 3
1 Offsides 6
2 Yellow Cards 0
0 Red Cards 0
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