And doing a damn fine job of it too!
Today started with trepidation, not sure what palace team would turn up and against a Liverpool team which had gone from losing a cup final, to then demolishing that same team a few days later. We had a couple of injuries, most frustratingly Wickham was out after his recent form in front of goal and also, answering a lot of palace fans pleas, Hennessey was out, replaced by Adebayour and McCarthy respectively. Almost strangely Mutch was dropped to the bench for Ledley too. It made for a strange looking formation but time would show what the plan was.
The game started very well for palace. Often recently we have started very poorly, looking rusty and having to play our way into the match whereas today the team was full of good movement, crisp passing, lovely stuff and Liverpool’s now trademark pressing game looked ineffective as we always had a pass on and were making the passes. Very encouraging indeed. The first chance was created by Palace and a beautifully whipped in ball saw Adebayour smashed a header against the cross bar, so close but yet so far. What was clear was that from any chance like this Liverpool were extremely quick to counter and put pressure on us down the other end of the pitch. So resulting from that near miss they were straight down the other end, that push seeing a shot struck curling but over the top right of the goal.
What was interesting was seeing how the team formation was developing. A lot of the game saw Bolasie and Zaha both on the right wing, helping each other out pushing forward. This caused the left wing to be exposed but Ledley was doing the job of covering this area and doing it well. The team was extremely fluid across the middle of the park and it looked very good. Again we looked assured in possession, the ball was being knocked about nicely, recycled well and the previous games uncertainty was banished. Liverpool spent a lot of time chasing shadows and when they did get possession it was high up the pitch (for us) in the Liverpool half so it wasn’t all that threatening. They did create their own half chances but for both teams the rest of the half would be all about half chances. Nothing clear cut beyond that chance for Bay Bay earlier on, but with that in mind it was still a good half of football and Palace were very much on top of things. Liverpool just did not look like the team I had watched smash Man City mid-week.
Much positivity at half time then. Which is an odd feeling these days. More of the same please and t hope that Liverpool have one eye on the Man U game on Thursday rather than this one, I would not like to see Sturridge make an appearance today.
The second half began like the first, continuing on with how Palace were playing. Putting serious pressure on the Liverpool defence and it didn’t take long for that pressure to tell. It was almost like a traditional goal we concede, the ball pinging about in and around the Liverpool box, shot blocked, cross blocked, shot blocked then the ricochet fell to Ledley, the most Spartan of all Welsh Spartans, who smashed the ball into the bottom right corner from just inside the right hand side of the box. The breakthrough was made! For once we had the goal that our pressure deserved. We had finally turned the corner.
The game continued pretty much as is, this isn’t saying that Liverpool did nothing but it was push and pull, cut and thrust, all those clichés. Then the turning point of the match came and you would be forgiven for thinking it was strange. 62 minutes in and James Milner committed another cynical foul and the referee had seen enough, time for an early shower! Just after I had been singing his praises too with regards to potentially being in England squad. It must have been frustrating for Klopp too as he had just made a substitution. So the shape of the Liverpool team was completely ruined. However the game changed. Suddenly palace were 30yards further back on the pitch, suddenly it looked like it was 9 v 11, palace with the 9. We had been first to the ball all match and now we were suddenly 5 yards off it, not a small amount, literally 5 yards off the pace. Every chance we got the ball instead of playing it nice and safe to regain composure we either gave it away, hit it long or passed it back to the keeper to hit long.
One of these back passes to the keeper would be the next turning point. So many fans would have been delighted at henessey being injured and seeing McCarthy back in goal but it was he who was to blame for the goal. The ball was passed back to him, under zero pressure but as he went to kick the ball his feet went from under him. The ball went straight to firmino who passed the ball into the net. Easy.
Just a thought - scousers are renown for stealing tires off cars, maybe, just maybe, they stole the studs from mcCarthys boots?
The goal knocked the confidence - what was left - out of the palace side and suddenly things started getting desperate. The reaction you hoped for from palace after this set back was not there and Liverpool kept coming forward. Cabaye was withdrawn along with adebayour by this point with sako and gayle on, although neither would really touch the ball the rest of the match. Every foray forward by palace didn't really amount to much. The same old half chances, nothing really clear cut, Liverpool probably created more.
The games final moment was also the deciding moment. In the 94th minute the ball came into the box and benteke took a touch past Delaney who went to ground. In spite of pulling out of the challenge Delaney just clipped the back of bentekes heel with his knee and he went down. The referee wasn't going to give it but the linesman was waving his flag wildly, so much so you could see the top of the brown envelope sticking out his back pocket.
Benteke stood up and put the penalty away. Whistle, game over.
Out of all the performances recently this one has to hurt the most. Deep. Everyone watching the game left, no words to be said. Horrible. Pardews furious throwing of his coat in the dugout said it all. I honestly don't know how we lost this game. The way in which we changed after the sending off was beyond explanation. I don't have the wisdom to explain it. How can going a man up wreck the game plan so fully. I don't know what to write at this point.
Let's go to some positives. I liked the shape pre 62nd minute. There was a tremendous fluidity about the team. Ledley covering bolasie being free, the two wingers being on the same side would have taken Liverpool by surprise and yielded results. We looked good defensively too. We looked like the old palace again. But with such a bad run comes extremely fragile confidence. The moment things didn't go our way the team lost all focus and direction and seemingly ability. Man I would have thought that when, finally, a referee decision goes in our favour that we would profit from it. But no, we did the opposite.
To quote Thierry Henry when asked if given the balance of play, did palace deserve something from this game? “No. They did not, so they did well first half but second. No.” He was right. The display after the sending off was deserving of nothing other than contempt.
Pardew it's over to you, the almighty reading stand in front of you, lose that game and I feel you will start to lose the majority of the fans. The already quiet selhurst park will start rumbling with discontent. The fans will make this lack of confidence even worse and as my headline says, we may well snatch relegation from the midst of a European place for next season. He'll lets upset some people, what are the odds on us swapping places with Brighton for next season.....
COYP?
Today started with trepidation, not sure what palace team would turn up and against a Liverpool team which had gone from losing a cup final, to then demolishing that same team a few days later. We had a couple of injuries, most frustratingly Wickham was out after his recent form in front of goal and also, answering a lot of palace fans pleas, Hennessey was out, replaced by Adebayour and McCarthy respectively. Almost strangely Mutch was dropped to the bench for Ledley too. It made for a strange looking formation but time would show what the plan was.
The game started very well for palace. Often recently we have started very poorly, looking rusty and having to play our way into the match whereas today the team was full of good movement, crisp passing, lovely stuff and Liverpool’s now trademark pressing game looked ineffective as we always had a pass on and were making the passes. Very encouraging indeed. The first chance was created by Palace and a beautifully whipped in ball saw Adebayour smashed a header against the cross bar, so close but yet so far. What was clear was that from any chance like this Liverpool were extremely quick to counter and put pressure on us down the other end of the pitch. So resulting from that near miss they were straight down the other end, that push seeing a shot struck curling but over the top right of the goal.
What was interesting was seeing how the team formation was developing. A lot of the game saw Bolasie and Zaha both on the right wing, helping each other out pushing forward. This caused the left wing to be exposed but Ledley was doing the job of covering this area and doing it well. The team was extremely fluid across the middle of the park and it looked very good. Again we looked assured in possession, the ball was being knocked about nicely, recycled well and the previous games uncertainty was banished. Liverpool spent a lot of time chasing shadows and when they did get possession it was high up the pitch (for us) in the Liverpool half so it wasn’t all that threatening. They did create their own half chances but for both teams the rest of the half would be all about half chances. Nothing clear cut beyond that chance for Bay Bay earlier on, but with that in mind it was still a good half of football and Palace were very much on top of things. Liverpool just did not look like the team I had watched smash Man City mid-week.
Much positivity at half time then. Which is an odd feeling these days. More of the same please and t hope that Liverpool have one eye on the Man U game on Thursday rather than this one, I would not like to see Sturridge make an appearance today.
The second half began like the first, continuing on with how Palace were playing. Putting serious pressure on the Liverpool defence and it didn’t take long for that pressure to tell. It was almost like a traditional goal we concede, the ball pinging about in and around the Liverpool box, shot blocked, cross blocked, shot blocked then the ricochet fell to Ledley, the most Spartan of all Welsh Spartans, who smashed the ball into the bottom right corner from just inside the right hand side of the box. The breakthrough was made! For once we had the goal that our pressure deserved. We had finally turned the corner.
The game continued pretty much as is, this isn’t saying that Liverpool did nothing but it was push and pull, cut and thrust, all those clichés. Then the turning point of the match came and you would be forgiven for thinking it was strange. 62 minutes in and James Milner committed another cynical foul and the referee had seen enough, time for an early shower! Just after I had been singing his praises too with regards to potentially being in England squad. It must have been frustrating for Klopp too as he had just made a substitution. So the shape of the Liverpool team was completely ruined. However the game changed. Suddenly palace were 30yards further back on the pitch, suddenly it looked like it was 9 v 11, palace with the 9. We had been first to the ball all match and now we were suddenly 5 yards off it, not a small amount, literally 5 yards off the pace. Every chance we got the ball instead of playing it nice and safe to regain composure we either gave it away, hit it long or passed it back to the keeper to hit long.
One of these back passes to the keeper would be the next turning point. So many fans would have been delighted at henessey being injured and seeing McCarthy back in goal but it was he who was to blame for the goal. The ball was passed back to him, under zero pressure but as he went to kick the ball his feet went from under him. The ball went straight to firmino who passed the ball into the net. Easy.
Just a thought - scousers are renown for stealing tires off cars, maybe, just maybe, they stole the studs from mcCarthys boots?
The goal knocked the confidence - what was left - out of the palace side and suddenly things started getting desperate. The reaction you hoped for from palace after this set back was not there and Liverpool kept coming forward. Cabaye was withdrawn along with adebayour by this point with sako and gayle on, although neither would really touch the ball the rest of the match. Every foray forward by palace didn't really amount to much. The same old half chances, nothing really clear cut, Liverpool probably created more.
The games final moment was also the deciding moment. In the 94th minute the ball came into the box and benteke took a touch past Delaney who went to ground. In spite of pulling out of the challenge Delaney just clipped the back of bentekes heel with his knee and he went down. The referee wasn't going to give it but the linesman was waving his flag wildly, so much so you could see the top of the brown envelope sticking out his back pocket.
Benteke stood up and put the penalty away. Whistle, game over.
Out of all the performances recently this one has to hurt the most. Deep. Everyone watching the game left, no words to be said. Horrible. Pardews furious throwing of his coat in the dugout said it all. I honestly don't know how we lost this game. The way in which we changed after the sending off was beyond explanation. I don't have the wisdom to explain it. How can going a man up wreck the game plan so fully. I don't know what to write at this point.
Let's go to some positives. I liked the shape pre 62nd minute. There was a tremendous fluidity about the team. Ledley covering bolasie being free, the two wingers being on the same side would have taken Liverpool by surprise and yielded results. We looked good defensively too. We looked like the old palace again. But with such a bad run comes extremely fragile confidence. The moment things didn't go our way the team lost all focus and direction and seemingly ability. Man I would have thought that when, finally, a referee decision goes in our favour that we would profit from it. But no, we did the opposite.
To quote Thierry Henry when asked if given the balance of play, did palace deserve something from this game? “No. They did not, so they did well first half but second. No.” He was right. The display after the sending off was deserving of nothing other than contempt.
Pardew it's over to you, the almighty reading stand in front of you, lose that game and I feel you will start to lose the majority of the fans. The already quiet selhurst park will start rumbling with discontent. The fans will make this lack of confidence even worse and as my headline says, we may well snatch relegation from the midst of a European place for next season. He'll lets upset some people, what are the odds on us swapping places with Brighton for next season.....
COYP?
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