Source: Team_Talk
Liverpool sink struggling Hammers
iverpool cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory over West Ham at Anfield on Monday to keep their slim Champions League hopes alive.[LNB] Former West Ham midfielder Yossi Benayoun and David Ngog gave the hosts a 2-0 lead in a low-key first half and goalkeeper Robert Green's unfortunate own goal finished off his side.[LNB]However, both teams still have a great deal to do to achieve their aims as Liverpool are still five points adrift of fourth place while West Ham are only three above the drop zone.[LNB]A 10th successive home league victory was rarely in doubt against a club whose last win at Anfield came in September 1963 and who have much more important battles to win in the last few weeks of the season.[LNB]Having dropped to seventh after the weekend's games, Liverpool's hopes of Champions League football appeared to be over.[LNB]And with Fernando Torres' knee operation ruling him out for the remainder of the season, the suggestion was their chances of rolling over opponents had gone with him.[LNB]If his stand-in Ngog's first attempt on goal was anything to go by that seemed a fair assessment.[LNB]The 21-year-old Frenchman, often criticised for his decision-making, attempted to beat Green with a header from the edge of the penalty area from Jamie Carragher's long pass when he had time to bring the ball under control after springing the offside trap.[LNB]Having barely threatened, Liverpool took the lead in the 19th minute with a piece of quick thinking by Benayoun.[LNB]Steven Gerrard's right-wing free-kick bounced in front of the Israeli seven yards out and he allowed it to deflect off his stomach and in off Green's right-hand post.[LNB]From some angles it looked like it could also have brushed his arm but there were very few protests from the visitors.[LNB]West Ham's response was brief, with Carlton Cole firing in a shot which Jose Reina did well to hold.[LNB]Despite their lead the atmosphere inside Anfield seemed to reflect the team's forlorn hopes of fourth place and it was not improved when unmarked centre-back Sotirios Kyrgiakos headed Gerrard's 27th-minute corner down and over the crossbar from six yards.[LNB]But a surprisingly smart finish from the raw Ngog eased those worries two minutes later when he converted Maxi Rodriguez's cross with a first-time shot after Benayoun had begun the move by cutting in from the left.[LNB]Ngog was not nearly as clinical with his next chance, ballooning a header up in the air after Dirk Kuyt had nodded back Glen Johnson's hanging cross to the far post.[LNB]Kuyt's 30-yard half-volley was much better, forcing Green to tip the ball around his left-hand post as Liverpool ended the half in complete control.[LNB]West Ham replaced Junior Stanislas with Guillermo Franco for the second half but in truth everyone except Cole could have been substituted without complaint.[LNB]Kuyt's quick break and cross from the byline almost picked out Ngog at the near post as the hosts continued to dominate.[LNB]Having experienced mostly bad luck in a season which saw early exits from the Champions League and Premier League title race and numerous injuries to key players, Liverpool enjoyed another kindly bounce of the ball.[LNB]If Benayoun's goal was fortuitous the third was even more lucky as Kyrgiakos' shot from Gerrard's 59th-minute free-kick crashed back off the post, hit Green and bounced back into the net.[LNB]Gerrard was denied a fourth only by the slightest deflection off centre-back Manuel da Costa.[LNB]West Ham's frustrations continued to grow but referee Peter Walton showed leniency to Robert Kovac by only booking the midfielder when he grabbed the official's shoulder and gave him a push.[LNB]Even with the game over the hosts still pushed forward and Rodriguez's whipped near-post shot had Green scrambling to keep the ball from crossing the line at the second attempt while Kuyt's ambitious overhead kick showed confidence was certainly not lacking.[LNB]Unfortunately for both Liverpool and West Ham, they will need much more than that if their seasons are not to end in disappointment and heartbreak respectively.[LNB]
