Thursday 15 May 2014

2013/14 Season Results Magnetised

After such an exciting season here are the results that made Liverpool dream but also groan...

Reds Hit Shamrock For Four

Liverpool ended the season officially with a friendly against League of Ireland side Shamrock Rovers with all of the Brazil bound players not included meaning a youthful eleven took to the field in Dublin this evening.


Liverpool began well with Aspas searching out a cross for the returning Borini who narrowly missed the connection which would have surely opened the scoring but the crowd didn't have long to wait for a goal as Ibe swept down the left and crossed superbly for Aspas to finish for the opening goal in the eighth minute. 

Jones did well to keep the lead intact with a quick save from a Kilduff header with Ibe responding for the visitors with a superb chance as he aimed for goal only to have his effort deflect wide. Aspas found himself in open space and with a great chance to score but could only find Murphy in the Shamrock goal.

Shamrock could have been level at half-time as Brennan headed at goal but only found the post with the ball rolling along the goalline before going out as Liverpool led into the break. The second period saw Liverpool extend their lead inside four minutes as Ibe raced forward and found Borini with the Italian curling a shot which beat Murphy and nestled in the bottom corner. 

Ibe came close to a goal of his won after a clever dribble put him in on goal but sadly he fired over with Borini also coming close when his shot struck the post and bounced clear. Liverpool went three in front in the 74th minute when Aspas hit for goal only to see his effort deflected right into the path of Kelly who finished superbly past Murphy.

Ibe looked to end his man of the match performance with a goal but again luck evaded him as he was denied by Murphy and the gloss on the win came with a first senior for Dunn who blasted into the net from the near post as Liverpool ended the season with a comfortable victory.

Wednesday 14 May 2014

Reds Secure Second Place

After such an exciting and dream-filled season, Liverpool concluded their campaign with a 2-1 win over a bad-tempered Newcastle but sadly the win was not enough to claim a first Premier League title as Manchester City won against West Ham to secure their second title in three years.

Liverpool brought in Daniel Agger and Jordan Henderson in place of Mamadou Sakho and Lucas Leiva as they hoped for a favour from West Ham to aid their title challenge but it was the visitors who has the first chance when Shola Ameobi headed off target after a corner from Vurnon Anita before testing Mignolet with a strong header.

Henderson earned a free-kick for the hosts in a dangerous position with Luis Suarez taking it quickly and and lobbed superbly over Tim Krul but had his stunning effort denied by the referee apparently because the ball was not still when he kicked it.

Newcastle responded with great effect as Gouffran raced down the left and clipped in a cross which clipped off Skrtel and past Mignolet to had the Magpies the lead and in doing so gave the Slovakian the unwanted record of most own goals in a single season with four.

Mignolet was called into action to prevent the lead doubling as he produced a stunning save from Gouffran who powered a shot at the Belgian stopper with his opposite number being called into action when Suarez hit a low drive but the shot failed to trouble the keeper.

News of City going in front lowered the mood but when Sturridge looked to glance home, the mood rose only for the ball to carry to the left meaning Newcastle held a 1-0 lead at the interval and as a result, Liverpool came out early for the second period eager to equalise and had a good chance when Sterling aimed at goal and his shot took a deflection before drifting wide.

Liverpool levelled and then went in front in the space of two minutes with Gerrard clipping towards the post and finding the waiting Agger perfectly to head past Krul before the skipper turned creator again with a free-kick that found Sturridge who converted from close range for 2-1.

The drama continued at the restart with Ameobi shown a red card for dissent and the momentum switched to the hosts who dominated the possession while going for a third goal but were given another advantage when Dummett was somewhat harshly sent off for a challenge on Suarez but the match finished at 2-1 and Liverpool despite being gutted at not winning the title, celebrated a well deserved second place with a lap of honour.

Friday 9 May 2014

Palace Dent Reds Title Hopes

Two games to go and a win for Liverpool would mean the title race would go to the final day as they took on Crystal Palace on Monday.

Liverpool made one change with Sturridge coming into the starting eleven in place of Coutinho as they looked to secure a vital win but it was the hosts who started the better with Puncheon troubling the Liverpool defence before hitting off target.

Sakho headed wide at the other end from Gerrard's corner while Allen delivered a dangerous cross that found Johnson but the result was a shot over the bar. Liverpool did go in front after a Sturridge's effort deflected fro a corner and the resulting set-piece from Gerrard found an unmarked Allen who headed past Speroni for his first league goal of the season.

Speroni could have been beaten again on the half-hour when Suarez chanced from a free-kick but luckily for the stopper, the effort failed to trouble him while his opposite number did well to deny an equaliser when Jedinak tested him from long range.

Liverpool started well after the interval with Sturridge forcing a reflex save from Speroni with Suarez hitting over from the rebound, Gerrard found Sturridge with a superb pass allowing the attacker to run at goal and test Speroni with his effort gaining a deflection and beating the Palace stopper for a two goal lead.

Two soon became three as Sterling and Suarez combined with the latter firing a perfect finish past the near post to surely seal a win for his side and boost their title hopes. However, Palace responded superbly and began with a Delaney effort that got a wicked deflection that left Mignolet helpless.

Bolasie raced down the wing and crossed for substitute Gayle who side-footed past Mignolet to set up a tense finish which became even more stunning when Gayle collected a flick-on and swept past Mignolet to steal a point and leave Liverpool's title challenge hanging by a thread.