Last Updated: 3:13am GMT 27/01/2008 from the Daily Telegraph
Rafael Benitez was finally able to sit comfortably in his seat on the hour, secure in the knowledge that the threat of the unthinkably humiliating had passed.
His Liverpool team had to come back twice against these part-timers from English football's sixth tier and only then, with a two-goal cushion, could he be certain of avoiding an unenviable entry in the annals of this competition.
Yossi Benayoun's hat-trick ultimately suppressed the Havant & Waterlooville uprising, but not before Liverpool had been subjected to one of the most embarrassing halves witnessed in this old arena of legends.Liverpool, the most decorated club in the land, twice trailed in the extraordinary period and were reduced to the desperation of novices. Even without Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Jamie Carragher and Pepe Reina, it was a performance of inexcusable ineptitude that defied credibility.
Martin Skrtel, their £6.5 million central defender, had a debut from hell. Goalkeeper Charles Itandje was an eccentric liability. The midfield was sterile, the attack impotent.
But to dwell on Liverpool's flaws is to do Havant an injustice. Richard Pacquette, scorer of their first goal, gave Benitez's defence a torrid afternoon and Mo Harkin put on a demonstration of guile and ingenuity that made a nonsense of the clubs' respective statuses. They harried, they chased, but they also played with purpose and had the courage to take the game to Liverpool from the start.
The FA Cup has undeniably been devalued in recent times as the financial rewards of the Premier League and Champions League have grown. Yet just one story such as Havant's makes it still worthwhile.
Their 6,000 fans and those who turned the directors' box into an extension of their enclosure, savoured every moment of this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
At the final whistle, the Havant players scurried to their opposition targets in red to collect their trophy shirts. A standing ovation from the Kop and every other corner of Anfield put a final gloss on their adventure.
Gracious it may have been. Relief it undoubtedly was. Peter Crouch's late goal flattered Liverpool but can have deceived no one.Shaun Gale, the Havant manager, said: "To come to Anfield and give a performance of that magnitude makes me immensely proud. People laughed when we said we'd have a go at them here but we have created chances and scored goals.
"Liverpool obviously hit back and showed their class at the end but this has been fantastic for all of us. Not many non-League clubs could have done this.
"We could have been battered but we weren't. We played the game our way and didn't sit back. We could even have made it 4-3 and made it an amazing finish."
Benitez admitted in his programme notes that the Premier League title is now out of reach and he must have been visualising the headlines - and the memo from the club's co-owner, Tom Hicks - as calamity loomed.
He fidgeted and gesticulated as he patrolled the technical area, the angst etched in his face. But eventually Havant were broken down, Liverpool were through and their flirtation with catastrophe will mean nothing come fifth-round day.
The Liverpool manager said: "You have to give credit to them. They started well and scored and we had to work really hard and do a professional job.
"But I had confidence and we were much better in the second half. The FA Cup is like this. It's a fantastic competition. A team five divisions below us shows how good and amazing the cup is."
Any prospects of a fairytale might have been unimaginable after just three minutes. Benayoun somehow headed wide of a gaping goal from Jermaine Pennant's centre.
Havant served notice of their ambitions when Harkin and Alfie Potter combined to expose Skrtel's fragile nerves. Two minutes later the defender needlessly conceded the corner kick that yielded the opening goal.
Harkin delivered a regulation cross and Pacquette was more surprised than anyone in the stadium that he was left unattended to score with a simple header.
Even some of the home fans joined the applause for the unlikely, yet their mood changed to anxiety and exasperation as Liverpool fumbled and stumbled to exert a semblance of authority.
It could have been worse still for Liverpool. Itandje made a hash of attempting to repel another corner and was relieved Neil Sharp hooked over his bar.
Then, out of nothing, Liverpool were level. Ryan Babel played the ball to Lucas who curled a shot into the far top corner. Now, surely, sanity would be restored. Not a bit of it.
Steve Finnan lost control of the ball and Potter's shot took a deflection off the hapless Skrtel to beat Itandje again.
John Arne Riise had another unproductive effort before, approaching the break, Pennant fed Benayoun to claim a second equaliser and spare the team the derision of the crowd as they retreated the dressing room.
Liverpool turned up the tempo in the second half and Benayoun's second goal eased the apprehension of the gallery. Again Pennant was the provider, although Benayoun's turn and finish were of the calibre expected of a Premier League player.
Havant's central defender, Tom Jordan, had a header beaten out but Gerrard laid on the fifth for Crouch and dispelled any chance of a final twist to the tale.
Gale said: "Now we've got to produce that level in the Blue Square South and try to get this club promoted from our league."
Man of the match
Mo Harkin (Havant)
The most composed and creative player, particularly in that first half
Match details
Liverpool: Itandje, Finnan, Skrtel, Hyypia (Carragher 84), Riise, Pennant, Mascherano (Gerrard 87), Lucas, Benayoun (Kuyt 72), Crouch, Babel.
Subs: Martin, Torres.
Goals: Lucas 27, Benayoun 44, 56, 59, Crouch 90.
Havant and W: Scriven, Smith, Jordan, Sharp, Warner (Taggart 40), Harkin, Wilkinson (Oatway 74), Collins, Potter, Pacquette (Slabber 57), Baptiste.
Subs: Steven Gregory, Taylor.
Booked: Wilkinson.
Goals: Pacquette 8, Skrtel 31 og.
Referee: Phil Dowd
Match Goal Highlights:
5 comments:
My vote for Man of the Match would be the entire H&W squad, and both sets of fans. I only managed to catch the 2nd half, but when I found out the 2-2 scoreline I was furious - what was Liverpool up to, YET AGAIN?!!!
A team of international players, built on multi-million pounds of salaries and they struggle against taxi drivers and plumbers?
As the 2nd half unfolded, for the first time, I found myself rooting for a team that was playing against the Reds. Frustration turned into admiration for the underdogs as I realized how much this game would mean to them and their set of supporters, especially with the 2 goals that they managed.
When Liverpool took the lead there was never any doubt on the eventual result. After the final whistle, I felt a sense of pride in being a Liverpool supporter, but not because the team won.
It was because I witnessed how the entire Anfield crowd, all 40,000 of them, gave a standing ovation to the little unknown team who defied the odds and fought like lions.
I would have done the same had I been there, but I wasn't. So my next best contribution is this 2-cent entry. Congrats H&W, congrats Liverpool! :-)
eYes ... agreed. H & W played well - congrats to H & W. Kudos to them and their fans! At the end of the day, they were punching about their weights and it showed. They were hoping for an Istanbul miracle of their own but at the end, the difference in class showed.
For sure, H & W played hard and they were full of determination but that is expected as they will have played the game as if it was their cup final. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity - wouldn't you if you were one of the H & W players too? Sure you will but the issue is fitness and how long they could keep up the tempo. It showed towards the last 30 minutes of the match. Our players still had plenty of energy whilst H & W players were running on empty, sapped after they tried to ppresure on LFC players and with chasing shadowas against a supeior team.
But to brand our team as hopeless is to have a skewed perspective on the match. A typical journalist's perspective of the game to sell their story and to knock down LFC and a journalist's personal crusade against RBenitez.
We never had the same trouble with H & W compared to the problems that we had with Luton both at Kenilworth Road and at Anfield. Just the media trying to HYPE the 'romance' of the FA Cup as the 'greatest' competition in the world other than the World Cup. Let's face it, its a matter of national pride anyway!
The two goals we conceded were due to individual mistakes FFS! The first was a SFinnan miscalculation that allowed a free header whilst the second was a SFinnan's miscontrolled ball which fell nicely to their striker to have a go at Itandje and it took a wicked deflection off Skrtel too to beat CItanje. Other than that, they only pose danger on the occassional set pieces which only troubled us one or twice. Out of which, CItandje made an incredible one handed save at the end of the match.
Sure, SFinnan made two horrible mistakes but then, its better to make these mistakes in matches like these where we have the ability to claw back the deficit than a high stakes EPL match-up with say, Arsenal, ManU or even Spurs or Newcastle. In time, these mistakes by SFinnan will make SFinnan even more determined not to make them especially in big games.
Skrtel's debut was considered okie considering that he had (1) Language issues (2) only been in Anfield for less than 3 weeks (3) lacking in match fitness (4) probably had to learn RBenitez's tactics (offsides, zonal defending etc) (5) limited playing time with other defenders. All in all, an okie debut but nothing to shout about considering the skill level of the opposition. Caught in possession a few times but he'll learn from it and be better for it.
The other positive is that the team is playing a 4-5-1 formation and is probably learning to get to grips with the way RBenitez likes to play it. This is probably the 5th or 6th time that we have use this formation this season and for once, it worked well with Babel and JPennant stretching the wings and YBenayoun playing behind PCrouch netting a hatrick albeit against lower opposition, its the way to use the wings and play the 'hole behind the striker' which was what YBenayoun did so well. YBenayoun's second hatrick in his first season - who would have expected that?
Did anyone noticed how many times JPennant was left with acres of space on the his side of the field and how Pennant uses it to his advantage although his crosses could have been more accurate.
With the team learning to play 4-5-1 more confidently, there is a new possibility opening up for RBenitez especially when he uses his 1st team players ..... All in all, a good tactical worked out for the team ....
Congrats to H&W. Still not convinced by the boys in Red.
I'm not convinced either by the performance so far from the team ..... at least until No. 19 comes along. Who will be convinced anyway? Which red fans is convinced that this is the team to bring us our holy grail? No reds fan is but the media has been harping on it since we beat Villa 2-1 away and the Derby win.
But for now, a win is a win in a cup competition and we'll find out who we face today ..... Let's hope we will be able to repeat FA Cup 2005/06 win for No. 8!
We got Barnsley at home next round, to be played on the 16th or 17th of Feb. I think the writing is pretty much on the wall that we would go all the way to new Wembley, for the first time.
Had a sneaky feeling that we will be organisisng an early morning viewing party on the third Wednesday (Thursday Morning) of May too.
Just a feeling, let's get behind the team and stop slagging them off, it's time like this where the players need our backing the most, instead of giving them the full support that we should, many are jumping on their back, piling on the pressure. Let's give the team the full support they need but not necessarily deserved, just like how in Istanbul.
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