Europa League Qualifiers: Rabotnicki Skopje 0 - 2 Liverpool – Full Time Report
Liverpool eased to a routing victory in the Europa League qualifiers, despite fielding a young looking side without first team regulars such as Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard, Pepe Reina, Dirk Kuyt, Joe Cole and Jamie Carragher. This was new Liverpool Manager Roy Hodgson’s first competitive fixture in charge of the club and he looked pleased with a strong performance from the side, who were rarely threatened by the Macedonian club.
It was the French youngster, David N’Gog who stole the show with two goals in either half to secure the win for Liverpool. The first goal came in the 16th minute after a very bad piece of defending by Rabotnicki. N’Gog took advantage and got between the goalkeeper and the defender to score the opener and make it 1-0. The goal was followed by a spell of possession for the Merseyside club, who were completely dominating the game and it looked like it was only a matter of time before they scored again.
However, it was not to be, at least in the first half, as it ended with the score at 1-0. Debutant Milan Jovanovic had an impressive start to his Liverpool career, troubling the Rabotnicki defenders every time he got the ball.
In the second half, N’Gog scored another goal to make it 2-0 to Liverpool. The second goal was also down to bad defending by Rabotnicki, as defender Egzon Belica and goalkeeper Martin Bagatinov failed to clear a routine ball put into their penalty area and the resulting confusion meant that N’Gog had the easy task of putting the ball in the back of the net. The French under 21 International looked pleased with his performance, after impressing manager Roy Hodgson and will be hoping for a greater level of involvement in the coming season.
Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson brought on youngsters Stephen Darby, Lauri Dallaa Valle and Nathan Eccleston in order to see what they had to offer. All three players performed admirably and helped secure a 2-0 victory for Liverpool.
The tie is not yet over though, with a return leg at Anfield in a week’s time and it looks like some of the players who weren’t available for this leg of the tie, may be available for the next. Fernando Torres is still not fit but England Internationals Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard and Joe Cole scheduled to begin training.
The result comes after Roy Hodgson publically criticized UEFA for scheduling a match so quickly following the World Cup in South Africa and there were suggestions that Liverpool may even withdraw from the Europa League in order to concentrate on domestic competitions, with a spot in the far more lucrative UEFA Champions League likely to be even tougher to get this season.
It seems though that instead of abandoning the competition altogether, Hodgson has decided to use it as a way to test some of the young players who are coming through the ranks at Liverpool, a strategy that may change if Liverpool continue to progress through to the higher stages of the competition.
After losing out in the Semi Finals last season to eventual winners Athletico Madrid, Liverpool will be hoping to go one better this season as Hodgson looks to rebuild on a side heading very quickly in decline. With one of the most hectic match schedules of the teams in the Premier League, the depth of the Liverpool squad will be tested as we get closer and closer to the start of the league season.
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