Not that I feel Rafa is under any REAL pressure from the board, as highlighted from my last post (rightfully, wrongly, whatever… it is up to the board/owners/Poulsen/gods), but this 2-0 victory inspired by a smashing header from Steven Gerrard midway through the second half is a major gift for our Spanish manager. Our stocking seemed to have been stuffed to the brim with coal this season, but we pulled some silver-lining out when the coal seemed to be overwhelming.
HYYPIA! Erm…. “GERRARD!” Deja vu at home against Wolves.The first half against Wolves at Anfield can mostly be described as tense, tentative, tetchy, and- let’s be honest- terrible. We were nervy, we lost possession at inopportune times, Torres was more concerned with bickering than with playing, and Aquilani seemed afraid to take on the defense, despite not being sloppy in possession. Gerrard was out of his game, and in all truth, only Glen Johnson was playing with any heart or desire. The second half, though, was a different story. Wolverhampton’s Ward was sent off for two tugs, fairly in my opinion, and the nature of the sending off will haunt referee Mariner for years! He booked the wrong player when it looked like Ward was going to be sent off, and our players onrushed him like the bulls of Pamplona. It was obvious that Mariner got it wrong, but our players’ reaction was one of desperation and “the world is against us,” which I felt was perhaps a bit embarrassing. Fortunately, in the end, we got our way (justly) and the decision seemed to push us forward.
It was indeed from this point that we had our first moment of quality, and it was Emiliano Insua who provided it. Charging down the left with confidence, Insua swung in a beauty of a cross, and a moment of deja vu followed it. Back in March of 2004, Liverpool and Wolves were at 0-0, and Sami Hyypia smashed a header high into the net to send the Kop absolutely wild… I remember it well, as I was graduating from college on that very day. Today’s header from Gerrard was almost a carbon copy of that goal, and the reaction from he and the crowd were equally enthusiastic. Not only was it relief, but there was a sense of justice to it. We are Liverpool… not Newcastle, not Manchester City. We aren’t an up-and-down club with strange fate at all times. A sense of stability has been the trademark over the years, and recent months and years have been quite the opposite of that trademark. When Gerrard scored, there was that momentary feeling of “maybe it’s all over… back to normalcy!” Eight minutes later, a fabulous ball from Fabio Aurelio spotted Benayoun in acres of space, and in typical Benni style, he jinked inside and slotted the ball goalwards. Fortunately for him, and for us, the ball took a wicked deflection off of Karl Henry, and it looped into the top of the net past the fingers of Hahnemann. 2-0, game over, and a lovely Christmas present for the supporters to cherish.
Sure, it was only Wolves, and sure, this isn’t the type of performance or victory that should be looked at as season-saving, but it all has to start somewhere. We have won 2 of our last 3 Premiership matches, and that in istelf is an important beginning. The loss at Portsmouth was a massive step backwards, but perhaps those backwards steps are going to become less frequent and we’ll be able to charge up the table. Perhaps Rafa will keep his job. And perhaps we’ll have another one of those second half of the season runs up the table that we have become accustomed to over the years.
Regardless, those three points were needed and I’m glad I was able to finish a match feeling happy instead of jaded, frustrated, and confused. Well done, Liverpool!
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