West Ham 1, Liverpool 2

WEST HAM UNITED 1 - 2 LIVERPOOL
Wednesday 26 April 2006 20:45 , Barclays Premiership

DJIBRIL DOUBLE KEEPS REDS IN THE RACE

Liverpool have kept hopes of a 2nd placed Premiership finish alive after two goals from Djibril Cisse gave them a 2-1 victory over their FA Cup Final opponents West Ham at Upton Park tonight in a game that saw Luis Garcia sent off.

The Reds have closed to within three points of Manchester United after a goal in either half from Cisse gave them three points despite Nigel Reo-Coker's 46th minute equalizer for West Ham. And with two games left to play, Liverpool continue to have more than just the FA Cup to play for.

The night ended sourly for Liverpool's Luis Garcia and West Ham's Hayden Mullins when they were both sent off after an 82nd minute scuffle and they will now both miss the Cup Final. Liverpool though might choose to appeal Garcia's dismissal as it appeared he least deserved a red card.

Rafa Benitez named a vastly changed team for this Liverpool's penultimate away game of the season so this was far from a dress rehearsal for the FA Cup Final as many of the leading actors had been given the night off.

You could be sure though that those who did play would do everything in their power to try and force their way onto Cardiff's big stage for the May 13th showpiece. And in keeping with Rafa, West Ham boss Alan Pardew made five changes of his own.

The night begun with a tribute to West Ham legend John Lyall, who sadly passed away last week. And when the match got under way it was the Hammers who threatened first when Bobby Zamora shot against the legs of Carragher when well placed.

The Reds quickly began to assert themselves on the game though and Djibril Cisse twice fired a shot at goal as some forward thinking produced three corners in quick succession.

Cisse had started the game well and he was to make it third time lucky when he gave the Reds the lead in the 19th minute. It came when Sissoko broke from midfield and when he gave the ball to Cisse he drilled a superb shot into the net from 25 yards.

West Ham responded with Benayoun forcing a good stop out of Dudek, but it was Liverpool and in particular Cisse who continued to look more dangerous. And Robbie Fowler came close in the 30th minute with a chip that had Walker sweating before Cisse forced the Hammer's 'keeper into another save with a 35th minute shot.

The home side came into the game as we crept towards half time and both Benayoun and Sheringham went close to levelling the scores, but Liverpool hung on to take a deserved lead into the break.

That lead wasn't to last long though because West Ham equalized through Nigel Reo-Coker in the 46th minute. Liverpool hardly having time to organise themselves again after the restart when Reo-Coker took Zamora's pass and beat Dudek from 6 yards.

The Reds cleared their heads quickly and Morientes shot against the crossbar after a good run and cross from Sissoko. But buoyed by their goal, West Ham began to grow in confidence and soon had Liverpool defending again. We had something of an end to end game.

It took a last ditch tackle from Jamie Carragher to deprive Reo-Coker a chance of a second, but as the game swung again it was Djibril Cisse who doubled his tally when taking Fowler's fine pass and making it 2-1 with a shot under that went under Walker in the 54th minute.

Cisse was now on a hat-trick and it would have been his first for the club, but try as he might, he just couldn't find a third. Dietmar Hamann had a go at making the game safe with a 68th minute shot that went wide, but although West Ham briefly threatened an equalizer, the points were already secured.

The win was to come at a price though when Luis Garcia, who had only just come on, was sent off with West Ham's Hayden Mullins after an 82nd minute scuffle that ended with Mullins raising his hands to Garcia's face.

It ?s Aston Villa at Anfield next for Liverpool and you can be sure they won't give up the fight to overhaul Manchester United until it's mathematically impossible. They've now won nine games in a row and in this form you wouldn't rule it out.

Teams

Liverpool: Dudek, Warnock, Carragher, Traore, Finnan, Cisse, Hamann, Sissoko, Kromkamp, Morientes, Fowler. Subs - Reina, Hyypia, Riise, Garcia, Alonso
West Ham United: Walker, Ward, Ferdinand, Collins, Scaloni, Etherington, Mullins, Reo Coker, Benayoun, Sheringham, Zamora. Subs - Hislop, Fletcher, Harewood, Ephraim, Reid
Referee: H Webb
Conditions: Dry
Attendance: 34852

Man-of-the-Match: Momo Sissoko

RAFA - WE WILL APPEAL RED CARD

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has said that they will appeal against referee Howard Webb's decision to send off Luis Garcia in the Reds' 2-1 victory over West Ham tonight.

Benitez has spoken to the referee after the game and he is hopeful that Luis may still make the Cup Final. He said 'The referee understands the situation and he has said he will watch the video again. 'It isn't easy for the referee, but the most important thing for me is that it wasn't a serious incident and both players have apologised to the referee and each other. 'We will wait and see what the referee's decision is after he has seen it again, but we will appeal because it is very hard for a player to miss a cup final after an incident like that. Luis is really disappointed and it is upto us to help him now.' Speaking about the result, Rafa declared himself very happy with his side's performance. He said, 'It was always our plan to use Cisse on the left wing and it worked really well for us. Cisse did a good job tonight. 'I'm very happy with the result, but it means nothing in terms of the cup final because that will be a very different game.'

Sledeca:
ASTON VILLA (h)
16:00 Sat 29th April
Barclays Premiership
Moja prognoza: 2-0, ipak "this is anfield"

Chelski 1, Liverpool 2

RAFA PRAISES PLAYERS AFTER GREAT WIN

Rafael Benitez last night hailed his players after they again beat Chelsea in the semi-final of a major competition.
Despite Jose Mourinho's post-match ramblings that the Reds "were very defensive", "were helped by the referee" and "have no chance of winning the Premiership next season", Benitez took great pride out of his team's performance as they booked their place in next month's final. "They like to play with the mistakes of the other team and normally punish them," said Rafa. "In this case, we made one, then they scored and we were under pressure. "At the end we worked really hard, created our chances and, with a little bit more luck, maybe we could have got another goal. "Chelsea are one of the most expensive teams in the world and they have a lot of good players. "They played well and we were trying to control them but it is really difficult to control Duff, Cole, Lampard and Drogba and all the players that they have. "I am really happy and delighted for the players, the club and the supporters. It was an amazing game for us. "The big clubs are always thinking about winning the big trophies and we are in the most famous Cup in the world. It is really important for us to win." Mourinho refused to shake Benitez's hand at the end of the game, but the Liverpool manager won't be losing any sleep over the incident. "I haven't seen him because I was saying thank you to our supporters. I have no problems," he added.

ANGRY MOURINHO DISAPPOINTED WITH DECISIONS

Beaten Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho felt his team were unfortunate to lose to Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-final and believed two key decisions by referee Graham Poll turned the game against his team.
Mourinho claimed the free-kick that led to John Arne Riise's opening goal should not have been given and also felt John Terry's disallowed goal should have stood. "When the referee gives such important decisions against your team in a semi-final it doesn't smell good and it wasn't a free-kick for Liverpool's first goal," said a disappointed Mourinho. "John Terry's goal should have stood and for the second goal we made a defensive mistake. We missed two good chances in the first half and at the end the same thing happened with Gudjohnsen's miss in last season's Champions League semi final. If you don't take them in these games it costs you." Mourinho also dismissed suggestions that he and Chelsea should be worried about the threat of Liverpool to their Premiership crown next season. "I can't wish Liverpool all the best for the final but I wish them good luck for the Champions League qualifier at the start of next season," added the Chelsea boss. "I am not worried at all about Liverpool and they have no chance of winning the Premiership title next season. We are 45 points ahead of Liverpool in the Premiership over the last two seasons and they have only beaten us twice in 10 games."

RIISE RELISHING FIRST CUP FINAL

John Arne Riise is relishing the opportunity to play in the first FA Cup final of his career next month.
Liverpool's Norwegian star - who opened the scoring against Chelsea in yesterday's semi-final - arrived at the club just after the Reds' last triumph in this competition back in 2001. West Ham or Middlesbrough now stand in Liverpool's way of ending the season with a major trophy in their cabinet and Riise is already thinking ahead to the club's big day out in Cardiff. "It's going to be a great occasion and I can't wait for it because I've never played in this Cup final," he said. "We had to come through a hard game to get there though because Chelsea were awesome in the last 25 minutes and we really had to defend well to keep the result. "The first half was played at such a high tempo that I was breathing heavily towards the end of it. I'm just so pleased we've come away with the right result. It was an awesome game between two class teams and we're now looking forward to the final."

Next:

WEST HAM UNITED (a)

20:45 Wed 26th April

Barclays Premiership

RAFA HAPPY WITH WIN OVER ROVERS

Rafael Benitez celebrated his 46th birthday by seeing Liverpool move within three points of second-placed Manchester United at Ewood Park this afternoon and afterwards declared himself a happy man.

Robbie Fowler's fourth goal since rejoining the club in January secured a crucial 1-0 victory over Blackburn and maintained the chase for runners-up spot behind Chelsea. "We are working hard, playing well and winning games," said Benitez. "You cannot say whether this is the best or not in terms of satisfaction but I am happy. "Our idea was to play compact, use the space behind the defence and hit them on the counter attack, especially in the second half because we were up against a physical side who played a lot of long balls and crosses into our box. "It was really good to keep another clean sheet. It is good for the team and everyone worked hard to achieve this, even the front players; Morientes, Fowler and Cisse. This is always the key to keeping a clean sheet." On the winning goal, that Blackburn claimed should have been disallowed for offside, Benitez added: "I haven’t seen replay. It was a throw-in and I told John to just get the ball in quick. Cisse never touched the ball but the offside rule needs to change because it causes problems for the referees." Benitez also revealed that Steven Gerrard's absence from the squad was because of a tight hamstring but confirmed that he should be fit to face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday.

Next:

CHELSEA (a)
18:15 Sat 22nd April
FA Cup Semi Final

Moja prognoza: 0-1

Fowler on target again

Robbie Fowler’s goal proved enough for Liverpool to rack up a fifth successive Premiership win as Bolton suffered a fourth straight loss.
The main talking point of a tepid first half looked like being Steven Gerrard’s rejected penalty claim until Fowler found the net in stoppage time.
After half-time, Xavi Alonso hit the post before Pepe Reina raced to the edge of his box to deny Kevin Davies.
As the game wore on, there was little danger of Bolton staging a comeback.
Reina was the first goalkeeper called into serious action when Stelios broke through on goal with only the keeper to beat but the Spaniard did well to get down to his right and block the shot.
Bolton just about had the better of the early exchanges, without posing too much of a threat in front of goal, as Liverpool were restricted to speculative, long-range efforts as the game failed to spark to life.
Gary Speed’s challenge on Gerrard on the edge of the penalty box looked destined to be the most noteworthy event of a fairly lacklustre first half.
But in stoppage time Fowler combined well with Peter Crouch and marked his 31st birthday with a snap-shot from the edge of the box through a crowd of players, his second goal in consecutive games as he aims to earn a long-term contract at Anfield.
Liverpool scarcely deserved their half-time lead, and sent on Luis Garcia for Djibril Cisse at the interval to try and pep things up.
It seemed to have the desired effect as the home side upped their game following the restart.
Bolton defender Bruno N’Gotty was twice called upon to make vital interventions to keep the scoreline at 1-0 - Gerrard set up Crouch to put the ball in the net but the flag was already up.
Bolton rarely threatened and, although Liverpool looked comfortably in control, they did not seem unduly worried about adding to their one-goal advantage.
The visitors upped the pressure as the game moved into stoppage time but Liverpool looked assured as they moved up to the 70-point mark for the season.
——————————————————————————–
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez on Robbie Fowler’s goal:“I know that it means I will be answering questions about his contract situation.
“I want to see him scoring and playing well; if he does that it’s good for everybody.”
Bolton manager Sam Allardyce:“We dominated the first half, and the last thing I expected was to go in at the break one down. That killed us off.
“It certainly knocked the lads back - and although they tried hard, they did not have the belief after the break to get back into it.
“We paid the price for creating chances and not taking them.”
——————————————————————————–
Liverpool: Reina, Finnan, Hyypia, Carragher, Riise, Cisse (Luis Garcia 45), Alonso, Gerrard, Kewell (Traore 88), Fowler (Hamann 75), Crouch. Subs Not Used: Dudek, Sissoko.Booked: Hyypia.Goals: Fowler 45.
Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Hunt, N’Gotty, Ben Haim, Gardner, Nolan, Speed, Faye (Campo 74), Giannakopoulos (Pedersen 53), Davies, Okocha (Jansen 61). Subs Not Used: Walker, Borgetti.Booked: Faye.
Att:44,194Ref: R Styles (Hampshire).

Next Match
Blackburn (a)
Sunday 16th April

Premiership

Ewood Park

3.30pm KO

Moja prognoza: 0-2

RAFA: WE CAN STILL FINISH SECOND

FT		West Bromwich A. [0 - 2] Liverpool
7'	[0 - 1]		R. Fowler
38'	[0 - 2]		D. Cisse

Rafael Benitez declared himself a highly satisfied manager after seeing his team beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0 and still believes the race for a second place finish is still very much alive. The Liverpool manager felt his team deserved to beat West Brom and keep up the pressure on Manchester United for second place. "In the first half we played really well and controlled the game all of the time," reflected Benitez. "In the second half we were a bit under pressure but we have done a good job and it's a good result for us. It worked well for us using the pace of Cisse on the right wing and with Xabi Alonso's passing ability it was perfect. "We need to keep going now until the end and keep winning games. You can't say it will be impossible to finish second because you don't know what can happen. We are sure we will finish third but maybe second." Meanwhile, Benitez was keen to praise Robbie Fowler after the striker's sixth minute strike took him ahead of Kenny Dalglish in the all-time Anfield goalscoring charts. He said: "I would like to congratulate Robbie. I hope to see even more goals from him this season and maybe in the future. "We haven't made a decision on his future yet. There is no hurry. We will make it in the next few weeks. It won't be about if he scores one or two more goals this year, it will be about what we feel he can give to the team in the future." Next: BOLTON WNDRS (h) 15:00 Sun 09th April Barclays Premiership