Match Report: Liverpool v Portsmouth By Will Tan

Anticipation for our visit to Fratton Park was high as we sought to cement our place at the top of the table. Though Portsmouth are never an easy proposition (them holding us to a draw during the pre-season game in Hong Kong underlines their resilience), many supporters were hoping for Liverpool to continue the momentum from the “Demolition Derby” a couple of weeks ago.

However, this was a game of few chances especially in the first half. Carragher returned from injury and was given the armband in the absence of Steven Gerrard who was benched (along with Fernando Torres) after their international excursions. Apart from a few speculative long range hits, there wasn’t much to bother David James while Pompey also struggled to create scoring chances on the other end.

That is until the linesman decided to spice things up by flagging for some alleged shirt-pulling antics by Aberloa on Kanu. For the third time this season, Liverpool were on the receiving end of a somewhat soft penalty but unlike the Villa and Chelsea games, Reina pulled off a spectacular save to deny Kanu from the spot. Sense of justice prevailed and the assembled Kopites at Mbar let out a collective sigh of relief. Cue grateful gulping of beer.

Game opened up slightly more in the second half with both Crouch and Voronin striking the woodwork. The former was forced into a back-heel volley as a cross came behind him and the ball sailed over James only for it to clip the upright. Our Pony Tail from Ukraine carved a shooting chance from nothing out of sheer doggedness but again the ball clipped the wrong side of the bar for a goal kick. Heart in throat moment came when the ever lively John Utaka got to a ball which evaded Carragher and Agger and had the goal at his mercy. Mercifully for us, he shot just wide of the goal. Another collective sigh of relief and more gulping of beer as anxiety began to creep in. We had already heard that Man Utd had beaten Everton 1-0 and were hoping for some sub action to kick things up a notch.

Rafa duly obliged and brought on our dynamic duo of Stevie G and Torres (for Pennant and Crouch respectively) that had an immediate impact on the proceedings. A trademark Stevie G surging run into the box split open the Pompey defence and he slid a beautifully weighted pass to Torres on the left of the box. Voronin had made a run into the six yard area and Torres could have picked him up for a simple tap in but instead opted to blast the shot wide. This time it was the synchronized slapping of foreheads that was heard around Mbar accompanied by a frustrated “ooooooooh, f@#$%@# close!”.

That was as close as we got in an altogether forgettable and drab exhibition of football. Two points dropped and knocked off the top by Arsenal. Let’s hope our boys are whole lot sharper when we face Porto on Wednesday morning and Birmingham City this Saturday evening at 10pm.

Remember, WE NEVER WALK ALONE, so calling all you Reds out there, stand up and be counted.