Dire draw as Liverpool fail to score
Well, it was a rather dire 90 minutes to endure for anyone sitting at Anfield on Sunday as Liverpool failed to find the back of the net and West Ham put everyone behind the ball hoping for a break. If anything, this game proved that the Reds have no real plan B when a side faces them and plays the long ball, similar to Stoke. We appear to struggle to take anything from the game and just can’t break through.
Brendan started a strong side with Suarez leading the line. Sturridge had to start from the bench although he featured early on after replacing Stewart Downing.
Coutniho and Suarez were the most lively in Red shirts and a very early chance from Phillipe forced Jaaskelainen into a save. At 25 minutes, Daniel Sturridge was brought into play and it was soon clear Liverpool would need all the firepower they could get if they were going to find a way through the West Ham defence.
West Ham were gifted a chance just before half time when Carragher put pressure on Lucas, who didn’t get chance to make his pass. An interception from Carlton Cole left him through on goal but a last ditch block from Daniel Agger saved the day.
West Ham knew their aim as soon as they kicked off but praise must especially be given to James Collins who played extremely well for the Hammers and ensured Liverpool would have to really produce something special to break the defence down.
Suarez had a few of his special moments throughout the game. Some shots from tight angles that he seems to love nearly caused an upset but it just wasn’t his day.
An offside goal from Daniel Sturridge was the closest the Reds got to taking all three points not long after the hour mark and despite the introduction of Assaidi Liverpool couldn’t find the extra bit of luck and had to settle for just the point.
It was another frustrating result from Liverpool’s point of view, especially when we’re now trying to keep 7th place instead of being relatively comfortable. We definitely have a problem when facing teams that aren’t afraid to park the bus, hopefully that’s something that can be worked on because if we want to push for 4th next season we need some form of consistency, you can’t be a great team if you fail to pick up 3 points from games such as this.
Next up for Liverpool is Reading on Saturday 13th April.
