Wigan Athletic 0 v 4 Liverpool
2nd December 2006
Wigan Athletic suffered a record Premiership home defeat at the JJB Stadium yesterday, and if the truth be told it was half expected given Latics' previous performance against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane last week.
Paul Jewell had to tinker about with his side again prior to kick off as Arjan De Zueew is still injured, this meant that Fitz Hall deputised and the Blues do not possess a fit right winger and so Lee McCulloch was drafted onto the opposite berth that he usually excels in. And the only bit of good news for Leighton Baines was that being the player with the most Premiership experience in the squad, he was named captain for the day.
Rafa Benitez was able to draft in Xabi Alonso who had recovered from injury and the livewire Craig Bellamy replaced Peter Crouch in attack for the Reds. Unfortunately for Latics they caught Bellamy in red hot form following his recent court case and the former Blackburn hit man ran riot all afternoon.
It was Bellamy who scored Liverpool's opening goal after just nine minutes when he raced past the Latics defence in the ninth minute as if it wasn't there. After intercepting a lovely pass from Jon Arne Riise in his own half. Emmerson Boyce failed to head the long ball clear and Bellamy sprinted past a static Matt Jackson to loop the ball over Chris Kirkland. From that moment on, Latics felt the full force of the Anfield machine as they ripped apart a Latics team that just could not cope with it. Foolishly, Latics seemed to be counterattacking Liverpool's goal scoring threat by playing the offside rule and this was to backfire with horrendous results.
Wave after wave of Liverpool pressure produced Liverpool's second goal in the 26th minute, following the Mike Riley show which had taken centre stage since the previous goal. The West Yorkshire based official had not seen a deliberate handling by Bellamy, whilst Emmerson Boyce was booked in the 14th minute for nothing. Emile Heskey was then virtually nullified from the game after being booked for a seeming hard but fair challenge for the ball in the Liverpool penalty area three minutes later. After that he was loathe to challenge for any fifty fifty ball, knowing a red card could quite easily be pulled out by the over zealous referee next time.
Alonso was booked in the 24th minute following a foul on Baines just outside the Liverpool area, but the Blues wasted their free kick and they paid dearly for it two minutes later when Steve Gerrard found Bellamy who this time shook off a more resolute looking Latics defence to slam the ball past Kirkland. There was a lucky escape for Latics on the half hour mark when Mike Riley deemed Bellamy offside despite Fitz Hall actually playing the striker onside. Had the referee not made this mistake Bellamy would have netted a hat trick, which would have seen him reach the 50 goal mark of his top flight career.
The difference between the two teams was clinical finishing and for all Liverpool's possession, Latics did have two excellent chances, both of which were fluffed before Dirk Kuyt scored Liverpool's third goal, with their third shot on target, in the 40th minute. When Lee McCulloch headed past his own keeper following a tame cross into the box by Gerrard the genuine Latics fans feared the worst for the second half. Another 500 or so Latics 'supporters' trooped out of the ground as they just couldn't stand the thought of the massacre that was going to take place in the second half.
However, Jewell brought on David Wright for Jackson and David Cotterill for the strangely ineffective Kevin Kilbane and the Blues managed to avoid the expected drubbing as Liverpool posed little threat for the whole of the second half. Latics had a goal chalked off for offside when the ball was put in the net midway through the second period and they missed a glorious chance in the closing minutes when Canara struck the post and the rebound was put wide.
However, the upturn in fortunes may well have been due to the fact that Liverpool had taken their foot off the gas, not because the Latics display had improved for that second half. Next up for Latics is a trip to Upton Park to take on West Ham United on Wednesday evening and as much better display is needed to ensure that thirteenth placed Latics are not dragged into a relegation scrap.
Hopefully, when the transfer window re opens Jewell can bring in defensive reinforcements because with De Zeeuw, the defence looks like it's built on sand.
WIGAN ATHLETIC, Chris Kirkland, Emmerson Boyce, Fitz Hall, Matt Jackson, (David Wright 46), Leighton Baines, Lee McCulloch, Paul Scharner, Josip Skoko, Kevin Kilbane, (David Cotterill 46), Lee McCulloch, Emile Heskey, Henri Camara. Subs not used, Mike Pollitt, Denny Landzaat, Andreas Johansson.
Booked, Emmerson Boyce, Emile Heskey
LIVERPOOL, Jose Reina, Steve Finnan, Sami Hyppia, (Gabriel Paletta 61), Daniel Agger, Jan Arne Riise, Luis Garcia, (Jermaine Pennant 53), Jamie Carragher, Steve Gerrard, (Danny Guthrie 79), Xabi Alonso, Dirk Kuyt, Craig Bellamy. Subs not used, Jerzy Dudek, Robbie Fowler.
Goal scorers, Craig Bellamy 9 mins, 26 mins, Dirk Kuyt 40 mins, Lee McCulloch 0g 45 mins.
Booked, Xabi Alonso, Craig Bellamy
Referee, Mike Riley (West Yorkshire)
Attendance, 22.089
Wigan Athletic suffered a record Premiership home defeat at the JJB Stadium yesterday, and if the truth be told it was half expected given Latics' previous performance against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane last week.
Paul Jewell had to tinker about with his side again prior to kick off as Arjan De Zueew is still injured, this meant that Fitz Hall deputised and the Blues do not possess a fit right winger and so Lee McCulloch was drafted onto the opposite berth that he usually excels in. And the only bit of good news for Leighton Baines was that being the player with the most Premiership experience in the squad, he was named captain for the day.
Rafa Benitez was able to draft in Xabi Alonso who had recovered from injury and the livewire Craig Bellamy replaced Peter Crouch in attack for the Reds. Unfortunately for Latics they caught Bellamy in red hot form following his recent court case and the former Blackburn hit man ran riot all afternoon.
It was Bellamy who scored Liverpool's opening goal after just nine minutes when he raced past the Latics defence in the ninth minute as if it wasn't there. After intercepting a lovely pass from Jon Arne Riise in his own half. Emmerson Boyce failed to head the long ball clear and Bellamy sprinted past a static Matt Jackson to loop the ball over Chris Kirkland. From that moment on, Latics felt the full force of the Anfield machine as they ripped apart a Latics team that just could not cope with it. Foolishly, Latics seemed to be counterattacking Liverpool's goal scoring threat by playing the offside rule and this was to backfire with horrendous results.
Wave after wave of Liverpool pressure produced Liverpool's second goal in the 26th minute, following the Mike Riley show which had taken centre stage since the previous goal. The West Yorkshire based official had not seen a deliberate handling by Bellamy, whilst Emmerson Boyce was booked in the 14th minute for nothing. Emile Heskey was then virtually nullified from the game after being booked for a seeming hard but fair challenge for the ball in the Liverpool penalty area three minutes later. After that he was loathe to challenge for any fifty fifty ball, knowing a red card could quite easily be pulled out by the over zealous referee next time.
Alonso was booked in the 24th minute following a foul on Baines just outside the Liverpool area, but the Blues wasted their free kick and they paid dearly for it two minutes later when Steve Gerrard found Bellamy who this time shook off a more resolute looking Latics defence to slam the ball past Kirkland. There was a lucky escape for Latics on the half hour mark when Mike Riley deemed Bellamy offside despite Fitz Hall actually playing the striker onside. Had the referee not made this mistake Bellamy would have netted a hat trick, which would have seen him reach the 50 goal mark of his top flight career.
The difference between the two teams was clinical finishing and for all Liverpool's possession, Latics did have two excellent chances, both of which were fluffed before Dirk Kuyt scored Liverpool's third goal, with their third shot on target, in the 40th minute. When Lee McCulloch headed past his own keeper following a tame cross into the box by Gerrard the genuine Latics fans feared the worst for the second half. Another 500 or so Latics 'supporters' trooped out of the ground as they just couldn't stand the thought of the massacre that was going to take place in the second half.
However, Jewell brought on David Wright for Jackson and David Cotterill for the strangely ineffective Kevin Kilbane and the Blues managed to avoid the expected drubbing as Liverpool posed little threat for the whole of the second half. Latics had a goal chalked off for offside when the ball was put in the net midway through the second period and they missed a glorious chance in the closing minutes when Canara struck the post and the rebound was put wide.
However, the upturn in fortunes may well have been due to the fact that Liverpool had taken their foot off the gas, not because the Latics display had improved for that second half. Next up for Latics is a trip to Upton Park to take on West Ham United on Wednesday evening and as much better display is needed to ensure that thirteenth placed Latics are not dragged into a relegation scrap.
Hopefully, when the transfer window re opens Jewell can bring in defensive reinforcements because with De Zeeuw, the defence looks like it's built on sand.
WIGAN ATHLETIC, Chris Kirkland, Emmerson Boyce, Fitz Hall, Matt Jackson, (David Wright 46), Leighton Baines, Lee McCulloch, Paul Scharner, Josip Skoko, Kevin Kilbane, (David Cotterill 46), Lee McCulloch, Emile Heskey, Henri Camara. Subs not used, Mike Pollitt, Denny Landzaat, Andreas Johansson.
Booked, Emmerson Boyce, Emile Heskey
LIVERPOOL, Jose Reina, Steve Finnan, Sami Hyppia, (Gabriel Paletta 61), Daniel Agger, Jan Arne Riise, Luis Garcia, (Jermaine Pennant 53), Jamie Carragher, Steve Gerrard, (Danny Guthrie 79), Xabi Alonso, Dirk Kuyt, Craig Bellamy. Subs not used, Jerzy Dudek, Robbie Fowler.
Goal scorers, Craig Bellamy 9 mins, 26 mins, Dirk Kuyt 40 mins, Lee McCulloch 0g 45 mins.
Booked, Xabi Alonso, Craig Bellamy
Referee, Mike Riley (West Yorkshire)
Attendance, 22.089
Labels: Wigan vrs Liverpool
posted by yotac-admin at 1:06 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home