Post Match Report EPL: Wigan 0 v Liverpool 1, By Jon Cheah

After two uninspired and downright frustrating scoreless draws in the premiership, the assembled Kopites at Mbar was understandably edgy and a touch too anxious for the visit to the JJB. Rafa’s squad rotation continued but he limited the changes to just Riise on the left wing while Kuyt was joined by Torres upfront which seemed to please the assembled masses.

As early as the second minute, former Reds keeper Chris “Sicknote” Kirkland was tested by a swerving Stevie G free kick. But that was the sum total of goal mouth action for the next 30 minutes as both sides engaged in the proverbial midfield battle.

Yaaaawn. . .

It took a bad pass from Koumas to spark our strikers into action when Kuyt intercepted the ball and sent Torres clear with only the keeper to beat. Kirkland made a good save but was lucky the rebound off “El Nino” did not bounce into his empty gaping goal. Numerous chances were then wasted as Riise, Pennant, Kuyt and finally Torres trying an audacious scissor kick after Arbeloa had sent an inviting cross into the Lactics penalty box. With the scoreline still 0-0, frustration levels were on the rise again. We should have been awarded a penalty when Titus “the Joker of St James” Bramble cluttered into Big Sami in the box but ref wasn’t convinced.

The second half started with a scare when Bent was left unmarked and beat Pepe with a ferocious shot, only to be wrongly penalised for offside (Shanks must be watching our backs from up there as the game was being played on the 26th anniversary of the great man’s passing). That certainly woke us up and we started to push further up to get that elusive goal leaving greater gaps for Wigan to exploit at the back.

Only bad finishing from Scharner and great goal keeping from Pepe stopped us from going behind. Sensing the urgency to score, Rafa brought in Benayoun to replace Aurelio on the hour. In the 75th minute, he out witted and turned a couple of defenders before slotting the ball pass the charging Kirkland into the back of the net after receiving a pass from Pennant just outside the box.

That goal was a beauty (Benayoun’s second spectacular goal in as many matches) and it sent everyone in M Bar into a frenzy. Cue plenty of clenched fists punching the air and plenty of high five smacks.


Yossi Benayoun Vs Wigan - The most amazing bloopers are here

However, the Lactics never relented and gave us a real fight right till the end. In stoppage time, they nearly broke our hearts when Aghahowa headed the ball when it would have been easier to score. (Must have been Shanks blowing him off balance from above again . . .)

The match was interesting as it had everything – good football at times, bad defending by both sides and lousy finishing. All of us nearly pulled our hair out in frustration when we missed so many chances.















Nevertheless, we all continued to sing merrily and went home glad with three precious points in the bag. Let’s hope we do not repeat the sub par performance from our past few matches in the Champion’s League Match day two game against Marseille at home, kicking off this Thurday, 4th Oct at 2:30 am on Astro channel 812 – ESPN (please double check listing in case there is changes).

Wigan 0
(4-4-2): C Kirkland 7 – M Melchiot 8, E Boyce 6, T Bramble 7, K Kilbane 6 – P Scharner 7 (sub: R Taylor, 82min), M Brown 7, J Skoko 6, J Koumas 6 – M Bent 6, J Aghahowa 3.Substitutes not used:M Pollitt, F Hall, A Granqvist, S Olembe.Booked: Brown, Melchiot. Next: Manchester United (a).


Liverpool 1 Benayoun 75
(4-4-2): J M Reina 6 – Á Arbeloa 5, J Carragher 6, S Hyypia 6, F Aurélio 6 (sub: Y Benayoun, 56, 7) – J Pennant 5 (sub: A Voronin, 82), S Gerrard 6, J Mascherano 6, J A Riise 5 - F Torres 6 (sub: M Sissoko, 89), D Kuyt 6. Substitutes not used: C Itandje, S Finnan. Booked: Mascherano. Next: Tottenham Hotspur (h).


Referee: M Clattenburg

Attendance 24,311