Former Hammers Joe Cole, Glen Johnson and Jonjo Shelvey secured three points for Liverpool as they
came from behind to win against West Ham at Upton Park on Sunday afternoon.
Jonjo Shelvey led the Liverpool attack in
the absence of Luis Suarez through suspension, the striker picked up his 5th
yellow card of the season against Southampton last week. Lucas continued his
return from injury in the centre of midfield, partnering Joe Allen and Steven
Gerrard. Elsewhere, Stewart Downing was handed a rare start out wide.
There was an early scare for the visitors
when the ball dropped out to Mohammed Diame on the edge of the box, but fortunately
the midfielder’s deflected effort trickled wide of Pepe Reina’s goal.
Glen Johnson produced a moment of magic in
the 11th minute. The right back advanced to the edge of the box,
crowded by bodies, he opted to shoot and found the top corner audaciously. It
was the third consecutive time Johnson had scored against his former club.
It could’ve been 2-0 minutes later. Johnson
was involved again when he dragged back for Raheem Sterling inside the box, however
the winger’s attempted effort veered just past the post.
West Ham looked for a response. A last
ditch tackle by Daniel Agger to deny Carlton Cole a tap in kept Liverpool’s
lead intact.
The pressure soon paid off for the hosts.
Joe Allen was penalized for handball in the area, referee Lee Probert didn’t
hesitate to point to the spot. Replays indicated that it was a harsh decision
on the Welshman; there was hardly any room between him and the ball when it was
struck ferociously.
Mark Noble stepped up and slotted the
penalty past the fingertips of Pepe Reina to draw West Ham level.
Remarkably, Steven Gerrard headed into his
goal as Jarvis delivered an inviting cross to turn the game on its head before
the 45 minutes were up.
West Ham offered Liverpool no respite after
the restart. Sam Allardyce’s men closed down the black shirts, forcing them
into mistakes, while defending with bodies and attacking in numbers.
Sterling came close in a largely uneventful
opening to the second half, forcing Jääskeläinen to tip over a
looping shot.
Quite frankly out
of the blue Joe Cole drew Liverpool level out of nothing. Slipped in by Raheem
Sterling, the former Hammer belted his effort past the keeper’s reach.
The second goal
spurred the visitors on to grab a third. Henderson’s cross was poked in by the
foot of James Collins under pressure by Jonjo Shelvey.
Mohammed Diame’s
unfortunate hamstring injury was the catalyst for the change in Liverpool’s
attitude. The midfielder was everywhere, breaking down play and surging
forward.
It was far from a
pretty victory, but scrappy wins propel teams up the table. There haven’t been
many of them this season, but back-to-back wins indicate the team’s moving in
the right direction after an underwhelming start to the campaign.
Sikander Najib
4 comments:
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Hai...nice article...very informative post...i enjoyed reading this blog..thanks for sharing with us.
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