Source: Team_Talk
Reds recover to pass tricky Trab test
iverpool recovered from going 1-0 down to beat Trabzonspor 2-1 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate in their Europa League play-off second leg.[LNB] However, it was far from convincing and it needed a own goal by Remzi Kacar and a late strike from Dirk Kuyt to secure their passage.[LNB]Their one-goal advantage had been wiped out in the fourth minute when Teofilo Gutierrez side-footed past Jose Reina but the late double salvo ensured manager Roy Hodgson did not become the first Reds boss to exit Europe before the end of August.[LNB]The victory was Liverpool's first in Turkey against Turkish opposition and their hosts' first defeat at home in 2010.[LNB]Liverpool had chance to put the tie to bed in the first leg but taking a 1-0 lead to Turkey was never going to ensure a comfortable night.[LNB]And despite finding themselves under huge pressure in the opening 45 minutes they should have wrapped things up a lot sooner than they eventually did.[LNB]David Ngog missed two second-half chances which Fernando Torres, the man he was standing in for with the Spaniard resting back on Merseyside, would probably have buried.[LNB]Prior to that Sotirios Kyrgiakos - one of five changes from Monday's Manchester City defeat - could have scored in only the second minute but he directed a weak downward header from Fabio Aurelio's corner straight at Onur Kivrak.[LNB]Trabzonspor made no such mistake two minutes later when Kuyt gave the ball away and Gustavo Colman's intended shot sliced open the heart of Liverpool's defence and Gutierrez side-footed past Jose Reina.[LNB]The enthusiastic Trabzonspor support did not need encouragement to ratchet up the volume as Liverpool's task suddenly looked a whole lot more difficult.[LNB]A quick counter-attack from an Aurelio corner almost brought a second for Trabzonspor with Jamie Carragher deflecting Ibrahima Yattara's shot behind and then Colman drilling in a low effort which Reina turned around his left-hand post.[LNB]The Liverpool goalkeeper was receiving some unwanted attention from a fan with a laser pen and Croatian referee Ivan Bebek instructed the UEFA delegate to put out a warning that the game could be stopped as a result.[LNB]Hodgson's side struggled to gain a foothold in the game and spent the remainder of the first half under pressure.[LNB]That continued after the break as Burak Yilmaz burst through on goal three minutes after the restart but was flagged offside.[LNB]In the 52nd minute Ngog should have given Liverpool some much-needed breathing space when Cole stood up a cross to the far post but the Frenchman headed wide from close range when it seemed easier to score.[LNB]Ngog then turned his marker inside-out on the edge of the penalty area but, faced with a clear shot at goal, rolled his effort wide.[LNB]Liverpool were, however, growing in confidence as Trabzonspor began to drop deeper and deeper.[LNB]But the longer it went without a goal, the more pressure they put on themselves.[LNB]Hodgson made his first change with 13 minutes to go when he sent on Dani Pacheco for Aurelio.[LNB]But the breakthrough eventually came eight minutes from time when pressure by Ngog forced an own goal.[LNB]Johnson's run and cross down the right was turned in by Kacar via the near post.[LNB]And things were wrapped up late on as Kuyt tapped in after Kivrak could only parry out Pachecho's shot.
