No Fat Lady Singing Yet.
Liverpool v Brighton
29 November, 2019.
I thought that I would take advantage of the time and do a bit more ‘Crimbo shoppings’ – especially as I will not be around to do it next Saturday. Even if it meant clearing out half my wages; you know how it is! As though something was trying to tell me that I was spending too much, I managed to get my card blocked after failing to recall my number twice – correct me if I’m wrong but don’t we get three goes at it? Thank goodness it’s contactless!
A quick cup of coffee in Morrisons and yet more petrol – just where does it go as I only drive as far as Newport and back, if that, in the week and a hop and skip over to Davie’s; scene of many reds games.
I knew the Liverpool team before-hand; thanks to Facebook. Just gutted about Fabinho being out for up to an estimated 8 weeks…. Just what are Liverpool going to do without him? Well, we were doing well before he came into the team, about a year ago now so, maybe his loss may not be so bad but, we all know what a class player he is and has been over the last 12 months. Just Boss.
When I got there Carly – Davie’s wife answered. A least this time she did not have to shoot-off to work mid-way through the coming game – how horrendous. Dean was there and Davie of course; the two lads I’ve known for at least 15 years from going to Anfield and now watching Liverpool with them has become something laid and embedded in stone- not for no reason Carly has called us, ‘The Three Amigos’. She gets much valued, raw entertainment from us as we watch the reds; as we display the full spectrum of emotions; from anger to despair and sometimes joy and no wonder she laughs at us and sympathises and supports in equal measure.
There was someone missing though! A little girl. Kelsey. Just, where was she? The blond straight hair and angelic face was not to be seen. Always she wants to be by the side of her best friend, Davie. I scanned the room, and, and then, there she was, hiding, crouched down, between the back of the sofa and the wall! A bundle of happiness and joy – a radiant smile on her face.
Tea, sweets – soft ones, and then, the boys made me aware that Man City had just drawn 2-2 at Newcastle. Well I was absolutely delighted. We all were!! However, I sounded a note of typical, idiosyncratic caution, ‘It won’t mean anything if we (Liverpool) don’t win today’ as I tried to excitedly work out how many points Liverpool could possibly be ahead of City, ‘if’ and it was a big ‘if’ Liverpool managed to negotiate their way past Brighton.
Liverpool lined-up in the usual order with Alisson in goal, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson as full-backs – wingers, Virgil van Djke and Dejan Lovren as the centre-halves, Jordan Henderson as captain in the middle with Gini Wijnaldum – so which one of them was doing Fabinho’s job? With Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as presumably the attacking driving force from the middle. Mo Salah, Bobby Firmino and Sadio Mane were up top. Not a bad team – in fact half of them make it into my ‘Liverpool team of the decade’ but that’s another story.
Brighton came and started well, as the home crowd loudly chanted sang out ‘Justice for The 96’ so that whoever watched the game, knew that everyone associated with Liverpool FC, was still fully behind the families.
Liverpool were playing better than they had been for a while and soon got into some sort of attacking groove. I have to say now that I can’t specifically recall too many efforts except that I think Bobby Firmino had a good chance and that Sadio Mane cut in from our left and delivered a great ball into the area. As Carly said, ‘He is playing brilliant’, or words to that effect. Quite.
The home team got a free-kick on the left edge of the Brighton penalty area. A bit way out but Trent Alexander-Arnold whipped the ball into the 6 – yard box and there was Virgil van Djke to head the ball into the top left-hand corner of Ryan’s net.
In a flash it was 1-0 to Liverpool.
Virgil ran over to the right and celebrated as we four also went ‘Yeah’s’ realising the possible significance of the strike.
The sweets were going down – especially those Marshmallow ones I’d got from ‘Home Bargains’ for under a quid. Well worth it people! Especially nice with a sip of tea in a cup which had ‘30’ on the front of it. I joked that it was my cup, with Carly saying that I looked younger than my age – ow, mind I did slip her a fiver before-hand! Carly was wrapped-up in the game as much as us though as she at one point began to sing along to the Kop booming-out, ‘Poor Scouser Tommy’; just a fab song and one I made a point of learning years ago when I got my season ticket; I too could not help but also sing along!
I was still moaning though. Moaning at Liverpool’s sometimes slackness of a pass here or there or not being ‘on it enough’. Maybe I was showing my age. Mind, we all were not happy – it was just our desire to see Liverpool win, win, win – a slogan for any Klopp Election Campaign, backed-up by results; not crappy empty promises.
Brighton were dangerous, no doubt about that, especially with that nippy Connolly getting through on a few occasions. A second goal was needed – fast.
Liverpool had three shots smashed in on the trot, as Brighton defended for their lives and at some point, the reds gained a corner, to the right of Ryan’s goal. Trent Alexander-Arnold whipped it into the box, signalling before-hand with a lofty arm held gesture. There was someone to head- butt it powerfully into the roof of the net. I did not know who had scored but was very grateful; it was only Virgil van Djke again!
Love him. Love him. Love him. Do you think I expressed my emotions enough there! He had single-headedly given Liverpool a massive advantage in the game and possibly in relation to the table.
‘All we got to do now is keep a clean-sheet’ Deano said.
Liverpool though tried their best to ignore Deano, especially when Dunk found himself clear, in the six-yard box and all he had to do was dink the ball home at Allison’s left near post and Brighton would have been back in the game.
There would have been nothing wrong with the goal had Dunk scored. It was just that Liverpool were just annoyingly, dropping-off the pace, yet again; which is always a danger – was it no wonder we were being so, so critical.
Half-time. Goals being shown from the other games as Davie got the tea’s in. Typically, British. You can drink any other drink but you can’t match a cuppa. End of story! Love it.
Liverpool nearly put the game to bed with a few more efforts ranging into the Kop End in the second-half. They just could not seal it though. To completely calm our nerves. Mo Salah was trying but everything he was doing seemed to end-up with the ball bouncing off him. The front three were not firing as even Sadio Mane went off the boil.
At one-point Davie said, ‘It’s like they have been told to play like this (Liverpool) by Klopp, to conserve their energy’. I think that there was a grain of truth in what Davie said. Liverpool it seems do just the minimum to try and win. As though they see the long-term not the short-term. As though almost, they have been told to pace themselves. If this is the case at all, it does not do anything for our emotions watching the games at the time but who can argue as somehow Liverpool had been picking-up the points at a rate un-known in modern times. Didn’t some manager (I wonder who!!) say that the season was ‘a marathon, not a sprint’?
Liverpool were holding all the cards as the time ticked on and the screen annoyingly kept flashing to other games with not score updates but near misses. ‘Get the game on’ we urged, more than once in anger, as Chelsea nearly went two-nil down to West Ham. ‘Liverpool is all that matters’ I shouted, as I watched us through a small square screen.
Jurgen Klopp had made two changes with Salah and Bobby Firmino having gone off. He still had one up his sleeve as in my head as I figured that Joe Gomes was going to come on with five minutes left. However, events on the field led Klopp to making another forced choice.
Brighton played a long ball over which floated to near the left edge of Alisson’s area. There was immediate danger and Alisson instantly made a decision as he ran out of his box and put his arm up to touch the ball as an attacker zeroed in on goal with Dejan Lovren behind the Brighton player. We all knew it was a straight red.
Liverpool, from being fairly comfortable had now gone to being a bag of nerves.
No wonder before-hand I had shouted down Davie’s jingoistic comments about possibly lifting some trophy or other before May in my most vocal dad voice. ‘Why, don’t you believe in us Crouch?’ I’d been asked. In my response I said ‘No, not yet’ as I am too old to believe yet and now, my scepticism was nearly being proved right.
Alisson went off and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was sacrificed as Adrian came on. Not a bad deputy we all agreed; recalling that he had come in and did very well at the start of the season. ‘Three game ban then’, we all concurred matter-of-factly but as it turned-out, wrongly, as to the length of Alisson’s absence from our League campaign.
Adrian must have had a chat to every single reds player – maybe even arranging details of a ‘Xmas lads night out without the boss’ because he took an age to actually get into his goal – our goal, the goal which every Liverpool fan wanted him to defend with his life if need be. Brighton were not hanging around though, as soon as they got the nod, they took a quick free-kick and deservedly made Adrian pay for his pathing-about, as the ball rolled into the right-hand corner of his goal. 1-2.
Liverpool were from that moment on in danger of letting the lead slip in the game and their potential increased lead at the top of the table. It was that serious and we all knew it.
Brighton were on the front foot with about at least ten minutes left with Liverpool needlessly down to ten men thanks to sloppy play – as I did not hold Alisson completely to blame for the near disaster which was potentially un-folding at a nervy Anfield.
The visitors had a few pot-shots which Adrian saved and pushed away but on one of them he failed to keep hold of the ball and it spilled behind him and with our hearts in our mouths, Adrian managed to grab the ball at his left near post, before it trickled over the goal-line.
It was that close…
‘Game management’ I softly said, as Liverpool had a rare foray up-field as Origi got hold of the ball and then Liverpool naturally wanted to attack and score and kill the game off in one fell swoop but the attack came to nought when if they had used their heads they could have kept the ball in the corner and wasted a minute or so, as Deano suggested.
The ball kept coming back but do you know, Liverpool – European Cup winners in June when they had to keep their nerve in the final, somehow managed to I can only imagine, draw strength from that adversity – the same strength they have shown to win games 2-1 for the ump-teenth time now, somehow; perhaps winning ‘old big ears’ that night has given them that extra one per-cent which is currently making the difference, as they again, held on and won…
It was relief. Relief that Liverpool had not let their chance slip to increase their lead.
As I began to shut Davie’s gate, in the dark evening, I said to him, despite Liverpool now holding an 11 – point advantage at the top, ‘I won’t believe that we are going to win it until the last two minutes of the season and no one can over-take us’.
I love Liverpool too much for my heart to be broken again – no wonder I am so sceptical; afterall, there is no fat lady singing yet…
Andy's Anfield Articles 