Away Daze - Lobbed by the Scousers

Author: Owen'sEleven / Date: Monday 1 February 2010

Three points at Anfield? Easy. Except it wasn't. Actually it didn't happen at all...

 

The signs were pretty good for this one. A “two-man team” missing one of its players and coming off the bag of a 0-0 draw against toothless Wolves.Unfortunately, the afternoon turned into a very routine victory for a solid-if-not-inspiring Liverpool team, and we were left to rue missed chances in the opening exchanges that could have changed the game.

If it wasn’t for the constant chorus of “Owen Coyle’s Super White Army” echoing around a disappointingly quiet Anfield, you would be forgiven for thinking Bolton’s management team hadn’t changed at all from that which oversaw only one victory against the big four in the last two years.

A Bolton throw-in meant a launch down the line or into the box, defenders appeared panicked and short of time, and you’d be hard-pressed to pick out more than five occasions on which a man in white showed any composure on the ball whatsoever. The only real complimentary chanting was reserved for Fabrice Muamba – a man paid thousands of pounds a week to follow another man around. He did it quite well.

The first half could have been so different, if Lee Cheung-Yong’s blistering run into the box had resulted in more than a goal-line clearance. Almost invariably, grabbing the first goal is the key to coming out of an away game with points in tact.

However, the chance came and went, and with the exception of a potential penalty when the Korean felt the gentlest of touches as he burst through a second time, we never really looked like having the creativity in the centre of the park to make something happen. In all honesty, Liverpool could have increased the winning margin if it wasn’t for some inept finishing from Ngog, and a couple of saves from Jussi the ever-reliable shotstopper.

Sloppy marking on the right (Lee and Steinsson culperable here) gave Insua all the space and time in the world to pick his cross, which ultimately lead to Kuyt’s poached opener, and our absolute refusal throughout the game to pick people up on the edge of the box from set plays was always going to be punished at some point. Eventually, it was – via Kevin Davies.

In fairness to Owen Coyle, Anfield is one of the hardest places to play. Few teams escape with a point, and even fewer with three. But even allowing for this, the performance from Bolton was shocking at times.

The ability to put three passes together was lacking, Taylor was slow and got caught out too often, Kevin Davies let his head drop, and the second half became little more than a knock around for Liverpool, culminating in the second goal. Shop-stopping aside, Jussi didn’t seem in control of his box, leading to one or two edgy breakdowns in communication.

All of that said, the atmosphere in the away end was upbeat and optimistic – a far cry from my last away day when “he who must not be named” was in charge.

Also, the teams around us seemed determined not to capitalise on our four-math run including three big four teams, and this all means that we’re actually climbing the table under Coyle. Long may it continue.

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