Cole happy to be up and running

New Liverpool signing Joe Cole admitted to being nervous ahead of his competitive debut at Anfield, but it did not show as the former Chelsea midfielder was the stand-out player in the 2-0 Europa League victory over Rabotnicki. The 28-year-old did everything but score, providing the cross for David Ngog's opening header before Steven Gerrard converted a penalty after the French striker was fouled just before half-time. It secured a 4-0 aggregate victory over the Macedonians in the third qualifying round, putting them into today's draw for the play-off round. "It was good, I was nervous before the game but it's always like that when you go to a new club," said the England international. "It was good to get 90 minutes in and get the win in the end. "The main difference (at Anfield as a Liverpool player) is that I wasn't getting too much stick. That's different. I enjoyed it, I needed the 90 minutes. I ran out of petrol a bit with 20 minutes to go but it was needed. "It would have been nice to have scored but I'm sure that will come soon."

Source: PA