FA Cup Third Round
Reading 1 Church 24
Liverpool 1 Gerrard 36
The Madejski Stadium, Saturday 2 January 2010
Liverpool's first game of the new year brought more frustration to the faithful. A drab and dour away draw to former Premiership compatriots currently languishing in the lower regions of the championship left many yearning for the smart and crisp performances (albeit patchy) seen in the preceding 2 games. One can't help but feel that the players weren't really as serious about this game as their manager, sitting back and letting the home team come at them, only being galvanised after the goal. Kuyt again seems poorly, his lack of confidence disallowing any goalward attempt throughout the match, discounting the fortuitous miss that lead to the equalizer. It's beginning to dawn on why Aquilani isn't starting games, as he again seemed out of sorts when eventually coming on in the second half, being slow and uncomfortable with the pace of the game. Looks like his orientation still isn't over. Gerrard could have done much better, constantly misplacing passes and excelling only in fits and starts. Lucas's reflex reaction seemed to be defensive, with most of his passes being backward rather than forward, implying that he's taking his defensive midfielder role too much to heart. as is usual nowadays, the defense's response to set pieces was abject allowing for anxious moments amongst the followers.
At least we live to fight again another day. The immediate concern is to overhaul those above in the League, and it is hoped that Spurs provide ample motivation to that end. A repeat of the result and the manner that win was procured in May 2009 would provide evidence of turning the corner.
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