Date: 1 May 2011 Opposition: Newcastle United Competition: League
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Date: 1 May 2011 Times Mirror Mail May2011 1 Opposition: Newcastle United Telegraph Echo Competition: League Dalglish ends the continental drift Liverpool 3 Kuyt's Dutch of class keeps King Kenny on course for Europe Rodriguez 10, Kuyt 59 (pen), Suarez 65 AS explosive occasions go, Andy Carroll's reunion with Newcastle was hardly up Newcastle United 0 there with the royal wedding fireworks. Referee: P Walton. Attendance: 44,923 But at least Anfield was treated to a performance from a red-hot striker at the For much of this season, the Europa League has been a symbol of Liverpool's fall peak of his powers, even if the controversial Geordie wasn't the centre of from grace, with a terrace soundtrack of "Thursday nights, Channel Five" belittling attention. their participation. Now, with a place in the tournament again beckoning, it could Dirk Kuyt has accepted the arrival of the pounds 35million British record signing at come to represent their renaissance. Liverpool with his usual phlegmatic shrug, and committed response. To understand why, it is necessary to look back to early January, when, on the Since Carroll's accession, which was supposed to limit further the opportunities of back of their worst start to a season for 57 years, Liverpool found themselves the indomitable Dutchman, he has scored 12 goals in 13 matches for club and eight places and ten points off a qualifying place for the competition. When Kenny country. His latest was another cool conversion from the spot to kill off what Dalglish replaced Roy Hodgson as manager in a caretaker capacity, his brief was looked like a Newcastle revival, and inspire a victory that puts the Reds into fifth not to get them into Europe, the aim was an altogether more realistic one place... and still in with a shout of the Champions League. indicative of their plight: to restore harmony and avoid relegation at all costs. Overhauling Manchester City in fourth is obviously a tall order, but if Liverpool Less than four months on and Dalglish has inspired a revival of such proportions can do it, it will be in no small part thanks to Kuyt's eight goals in his last seven that Liverpool's annual routine home win over Newcastle United took them to league games, which makes him English football's hottest striker. fifth in the Barclays Premier League, their highest of the season, with a place in His all-round game too, has helped his team overcome the loss of Carroll and the Europa League now theirs for the taking. Steven Gerrard recently, and his assist for the third goal converted by Luis Suarez If that is a reason for celebration, a cause for disappointment can be found in the was typical of the support his industry provides. growing sense of regret that Hodgson was not put out of his misery sooner and It is a contribution recognised by boss Kenny Dalglish, who believes his side could Dalglish afforded an earlier crack at the job he should have been given last yet get a reward for their efforts of recent weeks with a European place. summer. Not that an arch-pragmatist such as him is about to get caught up in ifs, "I don't know if the Champions League is beyond reach," he said. "We just have to buts and maybes. keep going and see what happens," he said. "I would rather the 'what if ?' was if I have never took charge," Dalglish said. "The way we have been playing is testament to the desire and belief the players "Because that would have meant that they [the players] were doing a lot better have shown, and they will get their reward if they keep doing that." than what we were, still have had the same run and the club would have been Kuyt again led the line as Carroll was confined to a cameo appearance as a more successful than it is at this moment in time. That's the 'what if ?' for me." substitute in the last 20 minutes, when he touched the ball barely a fistful of To put the Dalglish effect into perspective, Liverpool have taken 30 points in the times. 15 games since his appointment. Only Chelsea have garnered more in that period. That didn't stop the visiting Newcastle support from condemning him with the On the evidence, the so-called romantic choice, as it was billed by its critics at the usual chants - "You let your city down" and "one greedy b*****d" the more time, has proved to be the right one. All that remains is for the caretaker prefix to printable ones - but perhaps the fans are being a bit harsh on their likeable former be removed from his job title. hero. Having not scored at Anfield in their previous four visits and not won there since One wonders what Carroll could have done when the Newcastle owner was so 1994, the chances of Newcastle coming up with a result that could give Liverpool's desperate to get rid of him, he flew him to Merseyside in his private helicopter. owners second thoughts about confirming Dalglish's coronation were always slim. It is pretty obvious he didn't want to leave and let the fans down, and it was It was a lack of strength in depth, though, that Alan Pardew pinpointed as the disappointing to hear them ignore that fact. Not that it mattered. In Dalglish's main reason for their latest failure. "We haven't got the beauty of having a squad words "The Andy Carroll factor added a wee bit of spice for them and made it a like Liverpool has and that was obvious today," the Newcastle manager said. tough game" but aside from a poor spell towards the end of the first half, the The most glaring example of their weakness was provided by Andy Carroll. In the home side were always in control. space of two weeks, Liverpool have achieved something that Newcastle are yet to Carroll was supposed to form a devastating partnership with Luis Suarez, but Kuyt master after four months - they have found a way of flourishing in the absence of has stolen that honour. the towering striker. The pair combined beautifully here, after Maxi Rodriguez had given Liverpool an Left on the bench until the game had been won - Pardew disparagingly but early cushion, with a fortunate goal that owed much to a poor headed clearance accurately described his effect on proceedings as "minimal", claiming to miss the from Mike Williamson, and a deflection off Danny Simpson. injured Hatem Ben Arfa more than his club's former talisman. Newcastle revived before the break with Jonas Gutierrez sparkling down the left The Newcastle fans tried to make light of the situation, constantly taunting flank. Carroll, but that was the where North Eastern resistance began and ended. But when Joey Barton surprisingly shot the wrong side of the post just after the Newcastle eventually crumbled as their dominance of possession after going interval, it tipped the scales in Liverpool's favour. Kuyt made sure of victory with a behind was rendered futile by their own inadequacies going forward. The sight of confident penalty after Suarez nipped in behind the dallying Williamson, though Shefki Kuqi, their erstwhile replacement for Carroll, lumbering during a late there remained a question of whether the foul from the Newcastle defender was cameo will only have rubbed salt into the wounds. in the box. Liverpool, by contrast, thrived without their club-record [pounds sterling]35 The Dutchman then made the third with a delicate pass that put Suarez in to million signing, scoring three unanswered goals to add to the five they struck finish with some aplomb. The result left visiting manager Alan Pardew admitting against Birmingham City the previous weekend, a game that Carroll missed his side were left wanting - though not from the absence because of a knee injury. As on that occasion, Maxi Rodriguez opened the scoring of Carroll in their own line-up. and he did so again in this fixture,albeitwiththeaidofadeflection off Danny The Toon boss still had regrets though, because Gutierrez made inroads down the Simpson. left, and the game turned on Barton's chance. Had he scored, and with Liverpool Liverpool reasserted their superiority in the second half when Dirk Kuyt scored so flat at the time, it was easy to envisage the Geordies pulling off a shock result. from the penalty spot - his twelfth goal in his past 13 matches for club and Instead, the ball rolled the wrong side of the post, Liverpool were roused out of country - after the livewire Luis Suarez had been hauled down by Mike their indifference, and they claimed a vital win. Williamson. Suarez sealed the win with a close-range finish from Kuyt's deflected Apart from Chelsea, they have the best record in the Premier League since cross to leave the Kop calling for Dalglish's status as the architect of Liverpool's Dalglish's return in January, and they now find themselves above Tottenham in renaissance to be rewarded with a permanent job. That will happen, particularly the table. now that European qualification is now a distinct possibility. With the Londoners due at Anfield where the Reds have scored 14 in their last Ratings four, a Europa League spot now looks the very minimum target. LIVERPOOL 4-1-3-2 LIVERPOOL: Reina 6, Flanagan 6 (Shelvey 81), Carragher 7, Skrtel 7, Johnson 6, J M Reina 7 J Flanagan 7 J Carragher 7 M Skrtel 6 G Johnson 7 Lucas Leiva 7 R Meireles 6, Lucas 7, Spearing 7, Maxi 6 (Carroll 70, 6), Kuyt 8, Suarez 6 (Cole 87).