Source: FOOTYMAD
Liverpool 3 Toon 0
It was always going to be a humiliation, and full credit to the travelling Toon fans ... because they took it on the chin and backed the team to the death. LIVERPOOL 3 NEWCASTLE 0 LIVERPOOL: Reina, Flanagan (Shelvey 81), Carragher, Skrtel, Johnson, Meireles, Lucas, Spearing, Maxi (Carroll 69), Suarez (Cole 87), Kuyt.Subs Not Used: Gulacsi, Kyrgiakos, Ngog, Robinson. NEWCASTLE: Krul, Simpson, Coloccini, Williamson, Jose Enrique (Ferguson 90), Barton, Nolan, Tiote, Gutierrez, Lovenkrands (Ranger 73), Ameobi (Kuqi 82).Subs Not Used: Harper, Ryan Taylor, Steven Taylor, Tavernier. Att: 44,923 Kenny Dalglish's Liverpool made it 14 goals in their last three home matches, as the Magpies walked into the Andy Carroll hype at Anfield. The former Toon striker - who chose money ahead of a career at St James' Park - made his appearance on 69 minutes to boos and "greedy bastard" chants from the away end. It brought back memories of Peter Beardsley, when he walked away from the club for the "glory" on Merseyside, back in 1988. They both claim to be Geordies with Newcastle United embedded in their hearts ... until something better comes along. Dirk Kuyt scored his eighth in his last seven League matches, and Maxi Rodriguez, and Luis Suarez made it another horror show for the Toon fans visiting Anfield. Newcastle's record of just two wins at Anfield in our last 39 visits, to be honest, was not expected to change (I certainly would have taken a 1-0 defeat before kick-off). Most of us expected defeat to the new-look Dalglish Reds, but at least Carroll didn't hit the back of the net ... the damage had already been done long before he took to the field. Liverpool took a 10th-minute lead.Teenager John Flanagan's deep cross was only half headed clear by Mike Williamson and Rodriguez's follow-up volley took a big deflection off Danny Simpson. It went downhill from there for Dalglish's side as they conceded too much territory to their opponents, who enjoyed a sustained period of possession without really threatening. It was briefly broken by Jay Spearing's dipping shot, which Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul claimed at the second attempt with Meireles bearing down on him. The home side were fortunate, however, that for all their time on the ball Newcastle struggled to carve out a decent opportunity. Liverpool-born midfielder Joey Barton was the Magpies' main culprit as his delivery from set-pieces was poor. The one time he did put a free-kick into a dangerous area Johnson headed behind for a corner, from which Kevin Nolan subsequently ballooned a shot over. Liverpool's only other chance of the half saw Lucas Leiva's looping header easily caught by Krul, while Newcastle left-back Jose Enrique, a summer target for the Reds, had the final opportunity with a free-kick deflected behind off the wall. For the second half Liverpool's full-backs switched sides, with Flanagan having been given a difficult time by Jonas Gutierrez. But the youngster was almost caught napping within seconds of the restart as Nolan's low cross was side-footed wide by Barton at the far post. Luck was certainly on Liverpool's side as Suarez almost scored with a deflected shot which hit the side netting and Rodriguez hit the crossbar as he tried to centre from the left. There was a hint of fortune about Liverpool's 59th-minute second when Suarez isolated Williamson wide on the left from Jose Reina's kick and was sent tumbling by the defender right on the edge of the penalty area close to the byline. Referee Peter Walton, who had frustrated the home crowd with a number of decisions, had no hesitation in pointing to the spot to allow Kuyt to score. The Holland international should have doubled his tally with a free header seven yards out minutes later but missed the target. Suarez made no such mistake in the 65th minute when he exchanged passes with Kuyt to sidefoot under Krul from 10 yards. With the game safe Dalglish sent on Carroll for Rodriguez with 20 minutes to go, just before Meireles' diving header was deflected behind by Fabricio Coloccini. Carroll barely touched the ball, but he was booed (by the Toon fans) when he did.
