Liverpool vs. Everton: Andy Carroll's Header Brings Redemption to Liverpool
By
(Featured Columnist) on April 14, 2012
Scott Heavey/Getty Images
Andy Carroll, villain of Anfield and Fernando Torres-level flop, went from zero to hero to send Liverpool to their 14th FA Cup Final in a thrilling match at Wembley.
England's most prestigious cup competition may not have quite the same panache that it did in the days when Liverpool and Everton were among the country's top clubs, but hoisting the historic trophy at the end of the season was both sides' main objective heading into the derby clash.
Both sides fielded something close to their best XIs, although Kenny Dalglish's decision to hand Jamie Carragher an appearance against his boyhood club instead of sticking with the proven tandem of Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel horribly backfired in the first half.
The tension of this encounter was more like a final than the semifinal that it was, but that may be chalked up to the fact that this was a Merseyside derby, plus the pride of two of the fiercest fanbases in England was at stake.
The question of which manager needed to assuage his baying contingent of supporters is arguable, but Dalglish certainly lifted a considerable weight off his back with what was certainly his side's biggest win this season.
Indeed, redemption and vindication were the two main narratives on the day.
Liverpool spent most of the game trying to recover from the sort of colossal defensive error that people pay to watch on DVDs, as Agger and Carragher could not decide who had the task of clearing a lazy ball into their box. The latter's botched effort fell to Nikica Jelavic, who simply passed the ball past a stranded Brad Jones to open the scoring.
Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
And it would take an almost equally calamitous mistake by Sylvain Distin for Liverpool to get back on terms, because the Reds' big-money stars showed again that they are not worth what recently departed director of football Damien Comolli paid for them.
Stewart Downing was his usual unproductive self on the left side, and he will need to rediscover the form that made him a dangerous outlet during the FA Cup final.
Jordan Henderson, meanwhile, looks to be the worst of the bunch that arrived to much pomp last summer, as he formed a very ineffective partnership with Jay Spearing and Steven Gerrard in midfield. Why Dalglish continues to put his faith in the young Englishman is befuddling.
All the money that Liverpool spent did get them something in this fixture, though. As Everton's legs tired and the eventual winners pressed forward more and more as the match wore on, Andy Carroll grew into his side's most threatening player.
Somehow, Carroll contrived to mishit a free header from four yards out in the 47th minute, and two later chances that fell to his feet did not hit the back of the net, either.
After Luis Suarez neatly finished from Distin's aforementioned gaffe (which, it should be said, was not a very easy feat since he had to use the outside of his right foot), Carroll was everywhere: storming forward, tracking back and constantly chipping away at Everton's increasingly leaky defence.
In the 87th minute, deliverance finally came for the most maligned man on Merseyside.
Craig Bellamy sent a good ball into the box from a free kick, and Carroll rose higher than anyone else on the pitch to flick a perfectly placed header past a helpless Tim Howard.
The giant No. 9 raced away to revel in the glory of his winner, and that fortuitous flick of the head will hopefully advance him down the road to redemption he has been seeking this entire season.
A buoyant Carroll described the experience of coming through in the clutch as a "great feeling," and he responded to his critics:
"'I've had some criticism but I've just kept on going. I get the winner here and it's a great feeling. I believe in myself every day.'"
Everton, meanwhile, had no chance of recovering. David Moyes was forced to deal with a much more shallow bench than Dalglish, and when Leighton Baines and Jelavic seemed to lose much of their luster going forward, there was nothing the stoic Moyes could do.
Meanwhile, Carroll has bought himself at least a couple months of goodwill from Liverpool's restless supporters, and, even if the Reds finish below Everton this season—a veritable calamity for one of the most successful clubs in the history of English football—their fans can at least claim to have been to two cup finals and, potentially, have emerged victorious in both.
Regardless of what the final Barclays Premier League table shows at the end of the season, Dalglish may just claim enough silverware this year to buy himself at least one more season at Anfield.
No comments:
Post a Comment