Cup success can get Liverpool back to the future

Liverpool fan Baz Watson on his day at the FA Cup Semi-Final

The mention of Liverpool v Everton at Wembley takes me straight back to the 80s when I first began to follow the men in red.  Rushie’s superb 2^nd in our 3-1 victory in ‘86 or Stuart McCall’s last gasp equaliser taking us to extra time in ‘89 these are some of my earliest football memories so when I managed to cadge a ticket to the semi final I was taken back to those childhood afternoons of pre-sky terrestrial television football and the great Liverpool teams of yesteryear, watching the legend Kenny Dalglish in his pomp on the field and the in the dugout during his first stint as player-manager. Forget memory lane this would be like jumping into a supped up Delorian, firing up the flux capacitor and roaring back in time to our glorious trophy-laden past.

The March up Wembley Way

I arrived at Wembley on Saturday 14^th April Wembley at 10am, a respectable two and half hours before kick off. The place was already heaving and if the FA thought that the early kick off would stop people from getting well oiled before the game they were sorely mistaken some of the crowd looked like they hadn’t been to bed the night before and others must have cracked open their first tin before sunrise. There were songs and banter, banners and flags. The place was a noisy sea of blue and red. TV camera crews were doing interviews with fans, groups of supporters congregated to discussed team selections and tactics, news of the Liverpool squad filtered through the crowd at about 11:30. Kenny had once again shoehorned Henderson into the squad on the right and sentimentality had overcome common sense to give Carra a starting birth in a back four containing three centre halfs. On the other hand it was good to see big Andy Carroll get a deserved start after a recent upturn in form.

Inside the stadium 90 thousand Reds and Blues came together in a moving tribute to the 96 Liverpool fans who tragically lost their lives at Hillsborough on that darkest of days 23 years ago.  A minutes silence was impeccably observed by both sets of fans and then the whole stadium joined in a rendition of ‘Justice for the 96’ which really made the hairs on the back of the arms stand on end. Great credit must go to all Evertonians for the way they paid their respects.

Pre-match build-up

The match kicked off and began at fair pace. Jay Spearing latched onto a nice lay off from Andy Carroll but blazed over the bar from close range after just two minutes but as things settled down the football on offer was often scrappy and the ball ran loose around a crowded midfield. Attacking impetus from the wings was practically non existent, Downing delivered a few crosses but lacked real quality and he inexplicably seemed reluctant to take on the aging Phil Neville in a footrace. Henderson meanwhile was doing his headless chicken routine and apart from a decent tackle here and there the boy was anonymous. The strike partnership of Luiz Suarez and Andy Carroll started to look isolated and they were forced to come deep to link up with the midfield.
 
Everton got more and more into the game and were allowed possession in dangerous areas. The deadlock was broken midway through the half after some comedy defending on the edge of the Liverpool Area. A bouncing ball landed awkwardly between Carra and Dan Agger and the two defenders held a conference over who should welly it up field finally Carra took control but his left footed hack saw the ball ricochet off Tim Cahill straight into the path of Nikica Jelovich who graciously converted his tap in past a stranded Brad Jones. It was a birthday present for Everton and their fans went ballistic. Liverpool battled and struggled to get back into the match but were frustrated for the rest of the half and rarely troubled Tim Howards goal with anything meaningful.

The second half was a different story. Kenny had obviously had a few choice words at half time and the reds came out with their tales up. With in seconds Downing, now operating on the right, pinged a ball into the far post finding Andy Carroll unmarked the big Geordie rose like a salmon and headed the ball wide with the goal gaping. It hit the side netting and from my seat it looked as if it had gone in, I was convinced that a goal had been chalked off for some dodgy linesman’s off-side injustice; I just couldn’t believe that he’d actually missed the target from all of 3 yards with a free header. He had. Credit to the boy though, he took it on the chin and got on with playing some decent football.
Suarez was who was already having a decent game redoubled his efforts and was buzzing around like a man possessed. Stevie and Jay were bossing the middle and the Reds started to look dangerous. Suarez’s industry was rewarded when he harried Sylvain Distin who freaked out and played a Flannoesque short back pass which travelled all of three yards before Suarez caught up latched onto it and steered a cheeky little curling shot past the onrushing Tim Howard and into the corner of the Everton net.

From then on it was all Liverpool, the deflation of the Everton team was tangible and it transmitted to their support who were in fine voice since kickoff but suddenly subdued and wary. Liverpool twisted the knife with an attacking substitution bringing on Bellers and Maxi for Downing and Henderson, Bellamy was his usual spikey self, running the channels, challenging every loose ball and getting in their faces. David Moyes’ response was to bring on Seamus Coleman for an attacking outlet to get the ball out of their half.
 
However the young Irishman’s most telling contribution came in the dying minutes when he brought down Gerrard near Evertons 18 yard box. The resulting free kick was lofted in by Bellamy and met by the Beast from the North East despite the shirt grabbing antics of Marouane Fellaini. This time Carroll would not be denied and he directed the ball expertly into the far corner of the net with Howard a helpless bystander. The travelling Kop went into Raptures and the match was won. Maxi nearly added a 3^rd a minute later when he met a clever ball from Suarez first time but his blasted shot rebounded off the upright, well it wouldn’t be a proper Liverpool performance if we didn’t trouble the woodwork at least once.

We’re now all set to return to Anfield South on 5^th May to contest the FA Cup final with Chelsea and their plastic flag waving fans. A cup double would put a very nice complexion on a season where inconsistency in the league has weighed heavily on all our minds. Kenny may not have delivered us to the promised land of the Champions League in his first full season back at the helm but three trips to Wembley and two trophies is quite an achievement. It’s also worth remembering that it’s been achieved with a squad full of young new players with bags of potential who are still learning how to play together and will only improve with time and patience. There were times in the last dark months of the Hick’s and Gillett era where any success seamed light-years away and Liverpool football club seemed destined to trade exclusively on the glories of the past. Kenny hasn’t got it all right this season but two new cups for the trophy room at Anfield can get LFC fan’s minds away from the past and back to the future.