David Ngog offers Liverpool late relief against Unirea Urziceni
"Liverpool made a difficult descent from the Champions League into European
football's second tier tonight and the most worrying aspect for Rafael
Benítez was that their work-rate, commitment and attitude were not to
blame. The fault was simply that which dragged them into the Europa
League against Unirea Urziceni
to begin with: a lack of quality when faced with obstinate opponents,
although the late impact of two substitutes at least granted Anfield a
slender lead to defend in Bucharest next week.
Benítez had issued
sufficient warnings that a Europa League containing Juventus, Valencia
and Atlético Madrid is not to be taken lightly and much of this
encounter proved it can be problematic from the outset. Only when David
Ngog headed home from close range in the 81st minute, having been teed
up by a combination between Ryan Babel and Daniel Pacheco, did the
anxiety around Liverpool's first fixture at this level for six years
begin to disappear.
The Romanian champions were effectively
starting anew at Anfield, having lost the coach who guided them to
impressive Champions League wins over Sevilla and Rangers in the first
half of this season, the former Chelsea full-back Dan Petrescu, and
several key players since last playing a competitive fixture back on 14
December. It did not take long for the rust to show. Unirea gifted
possession to Ngog straight from the kick-off and within 26 seconds
their goalkeeper, Giedrius Arlauskis, was required to make the first
save of the night, reacting well to Steven Gerrard's placed effort
towards the top corner after Fábio Aurélio and Dirk Kuyt had combined
to send the Liverpool captain clear. A long night on the back foot
beckoned immediately for a team who prepared for this date with a 1-0
win at Northwich Victoria on Monday.
Benítez had set the correct
tone for a competition that will not be derided at Liverpool should
they advance towards the final in Hamburg in May by fielding a strong
side. There was certainly no evidence of a preoccupation with Sunday's
important league game at Manchester City in the manager's selection and
his side responded accordingly, showing few signs of complacency
towards the competition in a dominant start.
Kuyt dragged another
opening wide of the far post and Gerrard sent Albert Riera's cross off
target when picked out for a free header inside the area.
Those
missed opportunities gave credence to Benítez's pre-match assertion
that patience would be required against opponents whose virtues lay in
defence. The Liverpool manager called that one right, although mainly
due to the fact it was impossible to assess the attacking potential of
a Unirea team averse to moving forwards.
On the first two
occasions the visitors ventured into the Liverpool half they opted to
release possession as quickly as possible, Sorin Frunza ignoring his
team-mates in favour of rolling a hopeless free-kick at José Reina and
Marius Onofras deciding it was somehow a good idea to attempt to beat a
goalkeeper of the Spaniard's calibre with a gentle punt from the
halfway line.
All of which, of course, brought frustration to the
surface at Anfield the longer the contest remained scoreless. Javier
Mascherano almost produced a magnificent breakthrough with a 35-yard
drive that was deflected away from Arlauskis's net via a defender's
shoulder and, following a subdued first half, Ngog exploded to life
with a neat turn and shot under pressure that rolled narrowly wide.
Despite
Gerrard's probing and movement behind Ngog, Riera's inconsistent forays
on the left and dominating possession to a greater degree than they
have in months, Liverpool struggled to find a way behind the Romanian
defence. Indeed the longer the tie wore on the more it appeared
Liverpool's early superiority was a result of a gulf in match fitness
and not, as Anfield had hoped, class.
Benítez's team did not help
their cause with increasingly careless distribution, not that it
compelled Unirea to show any ambition, and it was only when Aurélio
drilled a left-foot shot wide from 25 yards in the 62nd minute that the
visiting goalkeeper had to be alert again. After squandering several
chances to cross from the left Riera was withdrawn to sarcastic jeers
from the home crowd and his replacement, Babel, at least injected some
urgency into Liverpool's play.
Martin Skrtel headed wastefully
over from close range when Aurélio's corner found him unmarked and
Arlauskis saved from Gerrard, until Ngog finally spared Liverpool's
embarrassment."
________________________________________________________
I know Unirea can win the next leg in Steaua's stadium! We still have O.K. chances of getting through, but Liverpool are a top class squad. Very nice defense displayed by Unirea though, and Paduretu played amazing! Gerrard and Kuyt had a lot of chances for the Reds, but the Frenchman (Ngog)'s 81st minute goal Fantastic keeping from the young Lithuanian international, Arlauskis! He made incredible saves and dives. made the difference.
