The Soccer Blog: West Brom 2, Liverpool 1: From Malmö to West Brom

Saturday, 2 April 2011

West Brom 2, Liverpool 1: From Malmö to West Brom

By: Ed | April 2nd, 2011
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Liverpool fall at the Hawthorns to two penalties from Chris Brunt.

As I sit and think about it, there couldn’t have been a worse outcome.

Early injuries to two influential defenders. Early yellow card for a hot-tempered forward that uses his physicality. A slow back line that’s composed entirely of central defenders and unable to cope with the opposition’s pace and skill. Grabbing an undeserved lead and then conceding two penalties. A goalkeeper already rumored to be on the way out furious with his back line. And, the cherry on top, losing to a former manager who will drive us absolutely insane with post-match comments that will feign humility yet somehow manage to casually degrade Liverpool.

And yet, in the first two minutes of the match, it looked like Liverpool were going to set the place alight. They poured forward from the outset and nearly had the opener after Andy Carroll headed Raul Meireles’ corner towards Dirk Kuyt, whose first effort was cleared off the line. The Dutchman crashed his second effort off the crossbar, and, just like that, we would say goodbye to Liverpool’s attack until they scored.

For a brief period, the first half turned into a comedy of errors. A West Brom break shortly after Kuyt hit the post saw Glen Johnson come up lame and clutching his hamstring, with Kenny Dalglish opting to bring on Kyrgiakos and push Daniel Agger to left back. The impact, which was anything but positive, was felt immediately. They spent less time on the ball, invited more pressure, and erased the idea of building from the back. Carragher’s early hoofs were now the only way forward.

carroll yellow With Andy Carroll battered and blasted on nearly every chance, it was only a matter of time before something boiled over. Before it got to that point, though, we saw Agger forced off with an injury, hittin the deck holding his knee. Twenty-five minutes gone, two substitutions used, and Liverpool’s two best attack-minded defenders gone.

Then we got the boiling over, as Andy Carroll lunged in for a challenge in the West Brom area, and Martin Atkinson rightfully booked him. There’s no excuse for a rash tackle, and it was easy to see that Carroll was frustrated and flustered by the physicality of the West Brom defenders. And, just as they planned, it pushed the young forward over the edge, and the yellow card signaled the end of his influence on the match.

It was all West Brom from there, and getting to the half without conceding was something of a success, with Pepe Reina to thank for making a handful of good saves. The second half started with more of the same, as West Brom immediately created a chance for Simon Cox over the top, and again it was Reina forced into action.

So of course Liverpool went and took the lead minutes later. A long ball over the top (go figure) was controlled by Carroll, and his goal-bound effort was tipped over by Scott Carson. Another good delivery from Meireles arrowed towards the center of the West Brom area, and an unmarked Martin Skrtel headed home to put Liverpool in front.

As we’ve seen too often this season, though, an opening goal for Liverpool didn’t equate to taking over the match. Things gradually swung back in West Brom’s favor, with Peter Odemwingie giving the back line, and Sotirios Kyrgiakos in particular, absolute fits. No surprise that the equalizer came as a result of a terrible challenge from the Greek and some fine work from the Nigerian forward. Another mindless challenge from Kyrgiakos, who’s been a major liability each of the last few times we’ve seen him.

penalty West Brom continued their positive play as Liverpool looked completely out of ideas—Luis Suarez created a chance for Raul Meireles in the 67th minute, but Meireles blasted over the bar, and that was the sole Liverpool chance until the hosts took the lead in the 88th. Again it was Odemwingie and Kyrgiakos involved, except this time the penalty was a bit more dubious. Odemwingie out-muscled Kyrgiakos for a long ball over the top, which left the striker one-on-one with Pepe Reina. Reina dove to save as Odemwingie knocked it on in the opposite direction, and it allowed for the Nigerian to create contact where there originally hadn’t been much. To compound matters Martin Atkinson appealed to the linesman despite being only yards away from the incident.

The Liverpool appeals fell on deaf ears, and it was Chris Brunt again for West Brom, this time with a perfectly-taken spot kick to give the Baggies what would prove to be the winning goal. Liverpool pressed in the dying minutes and had a Luis Suarez lob cleared off the line, but it was again too little too late. Three points to Roy Hodgson and West Brom, and one of the hardest losses to stomach in some time.

Dropping the three points is hard, but eating the humble pie is harder. Regardless of the early injury setbacks, this was not a match that Liverpool deserved to take much from. It’s a tough argument to say that this was a match that Liverpool deserved to lead at some point, unless Kuyt had converted one of his chances in the 2nd minute. West Brom were as impressive as Liverpool were poor, and the outcome was about as fair as football (or Martin Atkinson) will allow.

But, as I said at the outset, it was the worst case scenario in every possible way, and that’s got nothing to do with Atkinson. This squad is badly in need of fortifications, which sadly aren’t coming any time soon. From here they’ll need a combination of better form, better fitness and more determination, none of which were on display today.

Some Related Liverpool Posts:Matchday: Liverpool v. West BromMatch Preview: Liverpool v. West Bromwich Albion, 04.02.11Match Preview: Liverpool v. Sunderland, 03.20.11Zone 14Match Preview: Liverpool v. West Ham, 11.20.10

Category: Match Recaps, Miscellaneous, Premier League

Tags: Andy Carroll, Daniel Agger, Danny Wilson, Dirk Kuyt, Glen Johnson, I Want to Die, Jamie Carragher, Joe Cole, Kenny Dalglish, Life Sucks, Liverpool v. West Brom, Lucas, Luis Suarez, Martin Škrtel, Match Recaps, Miscellaneous, Premier League, Raúl Meireles, Roy Hodgson, Worst Possible Outcome
Tweet « Matchday: Liverpool v. West Brom | Home | EdAppreciative of everyone's feedback, but now I have to go get drunk at a 1 year-old's birthday party. Bonus points if my wife goes into labor while we're there and she has to drive us to the hospital.

What a day!alcatrazzledazzleWell written as always, Ed, and especially impressive to me since I would be weeping/taking a shot after each successive paragraphSignalflashAtkinson was a disgrace. I watched the game with my son who is a United fan, and he said this is why he was so angry with Atkinson in their game against Chelsea. Even the commentators kept pointing out his mistakes. Take away all the times he gave the ball back to West Brom and the outcome may have been a lot different. As Nate has said in his blog, the ref allowed West Brom to play rugby.

I don't like to make excuses and we weren't the best, but that was not a fair game.EdI think the decisions were terrible, and in that respect, unfair. But I can't see past West Brom being the better side on the day, and I think three points for them is fair, if fair really exists.SignalflashFair enough, but dang it hurts. I hope you enjoy your party, and may your wife hang on a little while longer.mattlike redtrev73 said, i think agger has to be viewed as a luxury, but not as a foundational piece moving forward. it's literally every other game with him, and i don't say that to blame him but it's just the fact of the matter. today's game really brought us down to earth and showed how thin the squad really is. even suarez seemed to be getting frustrated which we haven't seen too much of yet. the final thing i'll say pertains to martin atkinson, and while we were especially poor today i have to say it looked like he almost enjoyed carroll losing his cool. every time he blew the whistle i assumed it was for a whack carroll took, but invariably it always went against him. he also has distinct statistical analysis where some teams' records are wildly different, both positive and negative for others, while he officiates games. his incompetence is staggeringredtrev73Excellent stuff Ed, as per usual. What a gut-wrenching result. Had a bad feeling about this one all week. Hope the wheels don't come off completely now in the run-in. Kenny has had zero luck since he's returned (apart from the pen vs bruce's lot) and now he's got a defensive disaster to deal with. Of the back 4 that finished the game, Carra offers nothing offensively from full back, Wilson is VERY tentative in possession and the Greek always has a mistake in him but at least Skrtel is in some kind of form. DAgger is rapidly approaching Aurelio levels of sick-notery, the best prospect for years is crocked too (Kelly) and Jonno may be out for quite a while....so yeah, nightmare. A lot of Jonny's Yankee dollars are going to be spent on defenders methinks. At least two fullbacks and two centre-halves i would suggest. Could have been within 2 points of 'Arry's london-boys with a win today.....NoelCould have been within 2 points of 'Arry's london-boys with a win today

Oof. That hurts almost as much as the match did.EdUghcheekyfellowAnd Tottenham tied....fufufuuaopsudfpoamsudpofmuapsdfpamsdpoifupaosdmf,Kenet_550111When a league has too many bad ref decision, I can't help but to suspect the integrity of the officials. It might be because the league becomes way too rich thus corruption seeps in. Serie A was found out with Juventus fell in grace. Would EPL be next? Which club got most of the decisions from the ref which ultimately decide the tittle or Euro qualification. A lot of money involved thus wayward practices might be tempted. I am liverpol fan for 25 years but I am slowly losing interest in current super rich EPL. Too much similar to the then corrupted Serie A. I might be sound anti-EPL or football but just like most fans, I like a clean good game whether it involves liverpool or not. When ref is shielded from bad decision with inconsequential punishment, 'to err is human' would be a likely excuse for covering corruption. Video technology may be a good start to bring the game I love back. Afterall we should be a mindless good paying fans no.JerryAVery fair summing up. I was disappointed with your fans as they only made a noise for a short time after you scored. In previous years they have always been very good (especially as at one point today it was 26 nil to you). I was gald for Roy today as he had a very hard time with you, but some times it is not to be. Your loss (in a good way) is our gain.Bass BabyVery fair commentary from my [West Brom] point of view. If it's any consolation that's the best we've played this season and fortune favoured us. You would have come away with some points eight times out of tenblog comments powered by Disqus