Our forward play and penetration were poor It is also a disservice to a memorable first goal by the precocious David Bentley, a late substitute whose exquisite, gifted chip over 6ft 5in Mark Schwarzer from 20 yards ensured a repeat of the scoreline when the sides met here in the League two Saturdays ago. If you let us win in the League Cup, we'll give you the FA Cup". No one knows Wenger's response, of course, as it never happened. But what is inescapable is that McClaren would surely stomach this predictable exit if he could guarantee survival when they meet again on Wednesday for the second leg of the Carling Cup semi-final and with it passage to the Millennium Stadium next month.
Such nefarious thoughts are a disservice to the commitment showed - over-commitment in the case of George Boateng who was dismissed for a rash, late lunge at the impressive Ray Parlour - by both sides in the third of their four meetings inside a month, for which Arsenal now hold a two to one advantage. It was of Steve McClaren, the Middlesbrough manager, approaching his counterpart, Ars? Wenger, in some smoke-filled room in Highbury's halls (conspiratorial gatherings are the preserve of such a haze) and saying "OK, Ars?. One image was irresistible during the dog days of the second half as this FA Cup fourth-round tie spun towards its inevitable conclusion. Last May Liverpool lost in identical circumstances to Chelsea and have never quite recovered, so this was a result to boost morale in the dressing-room if not the Centenary Stand.Liverpool 2Cheyrou 2, 61Newcastle United 1Robert 4Half-time: 1-1 Attendance: 41,365. So it was Robson offering the congratulations at the finish, painfully aware that as his opposite number recently remarked: "We win together but as a manager, you lose alone." Whichever of two decent men lost this tie was always going to be under greater pressure as the season progressed towards the possible climax of a play-off for a Champions' League place when their teams meet here again on the campaign's final weekend. Houllier said of the day's hero: "I hear he's been criticised but he's not been playing, he's been injured."Owen did not have any opportunity to add to a remarkable record against his favourite opponents 13 goals in nine previous meetings and there was inevitably some late edginess as Newcastle poured forward, Dudek defying Shearer in added time. With three strikers injured and El Hadji Diouf at the African Nations Cup, there was not a forward available to sit on the bench so Anthony Le Tallec was summoned, Harry Kewell continuing to support Owen from the left to fluctuating effect.
To the home crowd's relief, their team found greater impetus, and just after the hour a flurry of attacking brought three opportunities and a second goal. Owen failed to take advantage of a two-against-one with Gerrard, and Kewell fizzed a drive across goal before Cheyrou's second memorable moment. After Newcastle had surrendered possession carelessly in midfield, he came from deep to meet Gerrard's perfect cross with a firm header past Given. By half-time Heskey was hobbling painfully and needed to be replaced. Some faulted him for coming so close to the 78mph shot without saving it, but at that speed he must have felt as helpless as the Kop patrons behind him.If the noise from two sets of supporters persisted for some time, and the pace of the game remained furious, the number of chances understandably slackened. Within 70 seconds, Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen played in Emile Heskey, sprinting forward from his starting position on the right of midfield; Shay Given, impeded rather than assisted by the full-back Olivier Bernard, managed to block, but Cheyrou was following up for the most straightforward of his four goals in the past five matches.When Robert then lined up a free-kick 35 yards out, everyone in the ground knew what to expect, but Jerzy Dudek in Liverpool's goal was the only man theoretically able to take preventive action. We said at half-time that we didn't want a replay, so let's take the game to them." For once his team carried out their instructions to the letter.It would have been difficult for any game to live up up to the promise of the explosive start, briefly threatening to make the 4-3 scorelines of 1996 and '97 look tame. Our forward play and penetration were poor."G?rd Houllier, in contrast, must have physically felt the pressure easing with this result. "I'm pleased and proud," he said, "because it was a difficult game Look at the run of form Newcastle are on. "I'm gutted, that's how much the FA Cup means to me," he said "It's gone for another year. At half-time we were quite confident and I didn't think we'd lose it And I have to say second half we were under pressure. So for all his many and varied achievements in football not least winning the FA Cup for Ipswich Town some quarter of a century ago Sir Bobby Robson has still never won a match at Anfield as player or manager. Liverpool began to edge it after the interval and took control once Cheyrou, whose early goal was almost immediately cancelled out by Laurent Robert's blinding free-kick, headed his second just after the hour. A point in the latter game carried them above yesterday's opponents in the Premiership, fifth against sixth, by virtue of having scored one goal more, and eventually the tie became as close as the League table. |
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