Gerrard called upon to save Liverpool day
TNS 0 Liverpool 3 (aggregate 0-6)
Liverpool had to call on skipper Steven Gerrard as they struggled to break down a brave TNS side in the second leg of their Champions League first qualifier.
For long spells the Welsh side had performed heroics to leave Liverpool with faces as red as their shirts.
With Peter Crouch waiting in the wings, Liverpool were humbled and never able to produce the goal feast boss Rafael Benitez had demanded.
Gerrard came off the bench to score twice in the dying minutes to add to his hat-trick from the first leg after Djibril Cisse’s opener, but even then it could not take away the glory from the Welsh champions who played their hearts out and even hit a post, seeing another effort ruled marginally offside with Liverpool rocking.
Once again TNS’ hero was goalkeeper Gerard Doherty, who produced another string of fine saves to cap his display last week at Anfield. TNS took a well-deserved lap of honour at the end of a night they will never forget.
Liverpool had left Gerrard and Fernando Morientes on the bench and were made to toil for long periods by another spirited display by the defiant Welsh club.
In came Cisse up front, Dietmar Hamann in midfield and Boudewijn Zenden on the left as Liverpool secured a trip to Kaunas for the second qualifier next Tuesday after the Lithuanian champions’ convincing 8-2 aggregate victory earlier in the day against Faroe Islanders Torshaven.
But TNS were only thinking about their pride and making every last second of their week in the spotlight one to remember.
They started with confidence, composure and enthusiasm for the ball. John Toner, a former Anfield trainee, produced movement and pace up front and Steven Beck – a former Everton youth team-mate of Wayne Rooney but a die-hard Liverpool fan – found space and time for some neat passing.
Only a crunching Jamie Carragher tackle stopped Toner in the box after a Martin Naylor pass, but TNS’ intent on more attacking than they showed at Anfield left the gaps.
Twice Doherty stopped Cisse in the opening minutes, needing to dive at the Frenchman’s feet after his searing pace had taken him clear onto passes from John Arne Riise and Anthony Le Tallec.
But TNS were intent on giving Liverpool something to think about. Jamie Wood got past Steve Finnan and wasted the angle for a shot, and Martin Naylor raced to the line seconds later to see his cross charged down by Riise. Liverpool knew they were in a game by now.
Liverpool were being made to work harder than they would have liked, they lost possession too easily and had Benitez on the line demanding more urgency.
But after 26 minutes a mistake by Chris King allowed Cisse to send Liverpool ahead. Zenden’s cross eluded King and reached Cisse in the box, Steve King missed his tackle and the big striker lashed the ball past Doherty.
Liverpool could have had another when Dietmar Hamann's run and pass sent Le Tallec away on the right of the box. His shot eluded Doherty and Phil Baker hooked the effort off the line.
Liverpool turned up the heat after the break but Doherty then made a stunning point blank save from Caraggher on 49 minutes, but as TNS fans were hailing their Irish keeper, on the other side of the box Wood brought down Darren Potter and Swiss referee Carlo Bertolini awarded a penalty.
Up stepped Hamann, and he tried a little shuffle to confuse Doherty, but only ended up with a weak spot kick that saw the TNS keeper turn the effort round a post.
Zak Whitbread came on for Carragher after 54 minutes, and TNS were soon firing in their set plays to at last give Jose Reina something to do.
Four minutes later Marc Lloyd-Williams replaced Wood, the devoted Liverpool fan at last getting the chance to play against his idols while Luis Garcia took over from Le Tallec.
Doherty saved with his feet from a Finnan 20-yard effort through a packed area, and Zenden hooked the rebound wide, Liverpool just not able to kill off the village side.
TNS almost equalised after 65 minutes when Beck saw a shot hit the far post with Toner firing the rebound over. Cue the arrival of Gerrard for a limping Xabi Alonso.
Doherty continued his heroics, saving from Luis Garcia, Riise and Cisse, but TNS kept going forward and Williams thought he had equalised after 75 minutes as he fired home Nicky Ward’s pass, only to turn to see the linesman’s flag raised.
Five minutes from time it took a fierce drive from Gerrard to grab Liverpool’s second, and a minute later he strmed through again to squeeze another effort past Doherty’s fingertips for a Liverpool third.
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