Apology to all MyRAWK readers: We have been kept busy with end of the year schedules and we have resorted to posting an article of the game with help from the Liverpool Echo. Enjoy and we look forward to seeing you this SUNDAY!
Article taken of Dec 10 2007 by James Pearce, Liverpool Echo
IT WASN’T supposed to be like this. A trip to the Madejski Stadium appeared to offer the perfect preparation for a week which could make or break the Reds’ season.
It was the chance for a bit of target practice before the serious stuff of securing qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League in Marseille and then striking a decisive blow in the title race against Manchester United.
Reading had been brushed aside on four occasions in the league and cup by Rafa Benitez’s side since they made the step up to the top flight.
The Royals had conceded 14 times in their previous six games, while the free-scoring Reds arrived on the back of five successive wins.
It should have been a stroll in the park, but the Reds took their eye off the ball and paid the ultimate price as their unbeaten Premier League record went up in smoke.
For a manager who always claims he is only focusing on the next game, it appeared the thoughts of Benitez and too many of his players lay elsewhere on Saturday.
Benitez rightly pointed to the injustice of three penalty appeals which all went in the Royals’ favour. The hosts were undoubtedly given a helping hand by referee Andre Marriner and his assistants but the Reds could have no complaints with the final outcome. Bad defending was as much to blame as bad luck.
The boss was left with some searching questions to answer himself over his formation, his choice of personnel and his substitutions.
Benitez has insisted that the Reds’ priority this season is ending the long wait for that elusive 19th title. That made his decision to substitute Steven Gerrard midway through the second half all the more surprising.
By taking off the skipper the boss was effectively throwing in the towel.Just two years ago the Reds turned a European Cup final on its head in the space of just seven minutes, so surely fighting back from 3-1 down at Reading in the final 20 minutes was not out of the question?
Then there was the formation.
Saturday was not the first time Benitez has opted to play 4-3-3 away from home and it has been successful in the past.
But it was the choice of personnel which restricted the Reds as an attacking force and left them vulnerable defensively.
With Javier Mascherano playing the holding role in front of the back four, it meant Gerrard and Momo Sissoko were given licence to push on.
It’s a role Gerrard relishes but a task seemingly alien to Sissoko.
The Mali international just doesn’t have the passing ability to make good use of the ball.
He conceded possession with alarming regularity and his confidence appears shot to bits.
Sissoko’s desire and work rate made him an instant hit at Anfield two years ago, but increasingly this season he has looked out of his depth.
With Xabi Alonso returning to fitness and Mascherano and Lucas Leiva in good form, you wonder what the future holds for Sissoko.
Maybe by playing him Benitez is putting him in the shop window but after performances like Saturday’s, clubs won’t exactly be queuing up with their chequebooks in January.
With Andriy Voronin out on the right and Peter Crouch on the left there was a chronic lack of width.
Saturday was the first time the Reds had conceded three goals in a Premier League match since the defeat at Arsenal 13 months ago.
It would be easy to point the finger for the defensive problems at the inclusion of youngster Jack Hobbs, who was handed a first league start in place of Sami Hyypia. But the 19-year-old did little wrong. Strong in the air and comfortable in possession, he was just unfortunate that too many of his team-mates endured an off day.
The warning signs were there long before Reading were gifted a 17th minute opener.
Brynjar Gunnarsson raced on to Bobby Convey’s pass before he was clattered by Jamie Carragher.
It was just outside the box but assistant John Flynn flagged for a penalty.
The only saving grace was that amid the protests Marriner forgot to issue Carragher with the yellow card which would have ruled him out of Sunday’s clash with Manchester United.
Stephen Hunt stepped up to send Pepe Reina the wrong way and become the first player to breach the Reds’ defences in over six hours of league football.
In desperate need of some inspiration, it was no surprise that it was Gerrard who dragged the Reds back into contention before the half hour mark.
The skipper was abused by Reading fans for his part in England’s failure to reach Euro 2008.
But just like against Newcastle, he answered the taunts in the best possible way.
The goal highlighted the weaknesses in the Reading rearguard that the Reds failed to fully capitalise on.
As Ibrahima Sonko backed off, Fernando Torres was allowed to control Reina’s long punt.
The Spaniard picked out Gerrard’s burst into the box and the skipper coolly slipped his shot past Marcus Hahnemann.
It was his 50th league goal for the club and his ninth in the last 10 games.
The Reds briefly stamped their authority on the game and Sonko was fortunate to get away with a clumsy tackle on Torres in the penalty area.
Early in the second half the Spaniard, who scored a hat-trick on this ground in the Carling Cup in September, knew it just wasn’t going to be his night.
First his diving header flew narrowly wide and then he was hacked down by Sonko before he could pull the trigger.
It was a stonewall penalty but Marriner and his hapless assistant were unimpressed.
Torres hobbled off but with John Arne Riise’s 25-yard free-kick stinging Hahnemann’s palms the Reds still looked the more likely winners until they were hit by a sucker punch on the hour.
They failed to react quickly enough to Nicky Shorey’s curling free-kick and Kevin Doyle was allowed space to nod past Reina.
Gerrard rallied the troops again and struck the bar with a stunning effort from 30 yards, but he couldn’t do it all himself and Reading exploited an alarming gap at the back to wrap up victory courtesy of James Harper’s strike.
When Ryan Babel replaced Gerrard the white flag was raised and Marriner might as well have blown the final whistle there and then.
Crouch struck the woodwork late on but by then the majority of the Reds’ travelling army of fans had long since departed.
Remember DEC 16 Match of the SEASON. GIFTS GALORE AND CAMARADERIE FOR ALL KOPITES!
Goals: Hunt (17, pen) 1-0; Gerrard (28) 1-1; Doyle (60) 2-1; Harper (67) 3-1.
Reading (4-4-2): Hahnemann; Murty (Cisse 90), Sonko (Bikey 81), Ingimarsson, Shorey; Hunt, Harper, Gunnarsson, Convey (Lita 88); Doyle, Kitson. Substitutes not used: Federici (gk), Long.
Liverpool (4-3-3): Reina; Arbeloa, Carragher (Hyypia 82), Hobbs, Riise; Sissoko, Mascherano, Gerrard (Babel 71); Voronin, Torres (Kewell 61), Crouch. Substitutes not used: Itandje (gk), Kuyt.
Referee: A Marriner (W Midlands).
Booked: Liverpool: Gerrard.
Man of the match: Convey
Attendance: 24,022
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