Liverpool fail to follow up on end to ownership saga with derby win as Everton claim three points
Liverpool’s dismal start to the 2010-11 English Premier League season has gotten a whole lot worse after defeat to their bitter rivals Everton left them mired in 19th place in the English Premier League table.
A goal from point-blank range by Tim Cahill and a 20-yard rocket strike from Mikel Arteta were enough to ensure that the points remained at Goodison Park on Sunday, 18 October.
Liverpool had been going in to the game with a great deal of positivity after their long-running ownership saga was settled when American group New England Sports Ventures bough out Tom Hicks and George Gillett. However, that new-found stability has not
yet found its way on to the pitch where manager Roy Hodgson is struggling to pick up points.
Everton, meanwhile, have also struggled this term and their win lifted them to 11th spot with nine points, three more than their Merseyside rivals.
Liverpool began the game in dismal fashion, allowing the Everton players to swarm all over the pitch and creating chances. Phil Jagiekla and Sylvain Distin were guilty of passing up golden-edged chances to put their side ahead, but made up for those misses
with a sterling defensive display to thwart the Liverpool attack as the Reds improved in the second half.
Despite Everton being in control of most of the early going, Liverpool were afforded a chance after 23 minutes, but Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard was more than a match for Fernando Torres’ headed effort.
Cahill put Toffees in front
The home side were in the ascendancy though, and took the lead after 34 minutes. Seamus Coleman tore up the pitch as he scampered down the right before flashing a ball into the area. Cahill, who seems to relish the Merseyside derby, found himself on the
receiving end and prodded home beyond Pepe Reina at the Spaniard’s near post.
Following the interval, Liverpool had to improve quickly if they were to stand any chance of leaving with any points, but the Toffees were quick to snuff out the Reds hopes when Arteta fired Everton into a two-goal lead five minutes after the restart.
From there, the home team were happy to sit back, but came close to extending their advantage on the counter attack when Jermaine Beckford shot over the bar.
Torres, who has faced criticism from several quarters for his poor form this season, again cut a disjointed figure as he struggled to get into the game at all, but his team-mates were also to blame for the continuation of his goal drought after failing to
provide adequate service for the 2010 FIFA World Cup winner. He had a shot towards the end of the game saved by Howard, however.
After the game, Hodgson defended his players, claiming that despite the defeat his side had performed well in front of their new owner John W Henry.
'I can only analyse the performance'
He told reporters that: "Of course I feel that disappointment. This would have been an ideal opportunity to really turn things around on the back of a positive response to our new owners, the way that news has been received. To get a result would have been
utopia but I can only analyse the performance.
“There is no point attempting to analyse dreams. The dream was we would come here on the back of new owners and win the game. We had to play the game to do that and, in my opinion, we played that game as well as we have played a game this season."
Everton boss David Moyes was delighted after putting an end to a run of three successive derby losses. He said that: “I've not beaten Liverpool enough in my time here. After the stuff that's been going on this week (with Liverpool’s change in ownership)
we concentrated on ourselves and I think it paid off."
Tags: