99 Red Balloons: Liverpool Report

After a week of internationals brought a short respite from the exploits of the Premier League, it was safe to say that appetites were made unanimously wet by the prospect of a visit from Liverpool. The fact that the week off was directly following the confident draw against Man U didn’t leave me feeling too grateful, as I would have rather the momentum carried into this match against a Liverpool side looking appealingly vulnerable after their defeat to Chelsea. The news that not only was Gerrard missing the game through injury but Torres was not travelling with the squad either made the case for a famous victory seem tantalizingly close, almost to the point of being guaranteed. Even without their two prized assets, Liverpool still posed an intimidating hurdle and you would have had to be either naive or ignorant to have thought they would simply be swept aside.

As against Man U we lined up 4-4-2 with Gordon, Bardsley, Ferdinand, McCartney, Turner, Reid, Cana, Cattermole, Malbraunque, Jones and Bent making up the starting 11. It’s so refreshing to see us challenging these top echelon teams after years of being subjected to flooding the midfield and or the 18 yard line in the hope of damage limitation. We started well in front of a packed out stadium, quickly getting the ball up to the strikers eager to ask some questions of the Liverpool defence. Five minutes into the half we received the answer. With the ball not effectively cleared by Liverpool, Bent found space in the box to strike a shot that seemed to be heading for the grateful arms of Reina – until the Liverpool official merchandise balloon entered itself into the fray. The ball cannoned off the balloon, diverting the ball a fraction to Reina’s left, sending the shot just above the goalkeepers shoulder. Cue pandemonium from both sides albeit for distinctly opposing reasons. As Sunderland was embroiled with uncontrollable joy, the away side, incredulous to what was happening, became incandescent with rage. Whoever it was that thought it helpful to punch the plastic, air filled hero onto the pitch can’t have been eagerly anticipating the trip back to the North West knowing that he has affectively ended his teams title ambitions.

Liverpool did create some chances with the defence providing Lucas and Spearing with a little too much space at times, even if the result was simply a string of adventurous 25 yard shots that never troubled Gordon. The football from the lads was nothing short of majestic with Cattermole and Malbraunque showing off their impressive footwork with a couple of back-heel’s thrown in for good measure. Sunderland should have doubled the lead late on in the first half as Bardsley found space down the wing and floated in a cross to the back post, where an onrushing Bent broke free of his marker but, with the goal at his mercy, headed wide.

The second half brought a defensive reshuffle as McCartney didn’t re-emerge from the tunnel pushing Ferdinand to left back and the half man half god Cana to drop into a centre back position with Henderson brought into the midfield. This, as expected, gave Liverpool a little more breathing space in the middle of the park as they began to gain large periods of possession but still lacked the final touch (or a balloon) in the final third. Bent meanwhile was relishing the counterattacks as twice he managed to round the keeper, only once for Reina to save well down low and to later hit the post from a tight angle. Malbraunque also found himself one on one only to delay the shot and eventually loose possession. The only real negatives to come from the match were not performance related but concerned injury worries, with both Cattermole and Jones coming off on stretchers. Carragher showed himself to be the insipid has-been that he really is as he took offence to Jones being injured and continuously whined about the time. I’d have thought the plum faced idiot would have appreciated a breather as he’s quickly becoming the Scouse version of Gary Neville.

There was a slight moment of worry when a speculative cross come shot dipped alarmingly goal bound but Gordon stayed alert and tipped it over the bar. The stoppages in the second half were bound to create an abnormal amount of extra time in order to guarantee the traditional apoplectic, triple heart bypass finish to which we have grown so accustomed to. Seven excruciating minutes were awarded to Liverpool’s cause and they created a couple of chances, the best of which was thwarted by an impressive double save by Gordon. Benitez’s side were limited going forward mainly due to the animalistic defending by Cana, whose heading and slide tackling – in the first half he ploughed through Babel so hard (and late) he nearly put him in the Wear – was utter perfection.

100 minutes of play in all, the final whistle was greeted with scenes of jubilation as well as our first clean sheet of the season. Again we had taken it to the top four and came out the better off. Keep up form such as this, and who’s to say that a Europa League spot might just be in the offing? Oh and by the way Nena, I think we’ve found that 100th balloon you were missing.

Result: Sunderland 1 – 0 Liverpool

Man of the Match: Cana, the most unequivocal decision all day.

By Jonothan Scollen

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