Saturday, April 04, 2009

Fulham 0 Liverpool 1

So close to another great result against one of the top four. This wasn't a classic match by any stretch of the imagination. Neither side played to they're full potential and as the final minutes ticked down it looked like we'd done enough. We rode our luck too often, Liverpool hit the crossbar three times and the post once in the first half alone. We had too many moments of questionable decision making and it was exactly that, Clint Dempsey opting to run the ball out of defence and getting caught, that led to Benayoun's injury time goal.

I blame the international break. Both sides looked jaded and the game never really flowed for either. Murphy's replacement was probably a defensive move but it robbed us of what little creative spark we had managed. Too many Whites were having an off day at the same time and against a side like Liverpool it was only going to end one way. On the plus side we showed how difficult to beat we've become and the players never gave up. They were upset at the end and received a deserved ovation at the end. We can chalk this one down to experience and move on to the next game.

Fulham: Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Dempsey, Murphy (Dacourt 76), Etuhu, Davies (Gera 79), Zamora, Johnson (Nevland 87).
Subs Not Used: Zuberbuhler, Kamara, Kallio, Baird.
Booked: Pantsil, Gera.

Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Skrtel, Insua, Alonso, Lucas, Kuyt (Benayoun 76), Gerrard (Agger 90), Dossena (Babel 65), Torres.
Subs Not Used: Cavalieri, Riera, Mascherano, Ngog.
Booked: Babel, Skrtel.
Goals: Benayoun 90.

Att: 25,661

Ref: Steve Bennett (Kent)

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