Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.For the second time at Anfield in little over a week, and for the third match running, Liverpool snatched a draw from the jaws of victory in the dying minutes. They started the trend at Blackburn, were then caught out by Newcastle, and last night, as they again shared four goals in a game they appeared to have won, the benificiaries were Birmingham.
Clinton Morrison, mercilessly mocked by the Kop on his previous visit to Liverpool, not only scored the goal which gave Birmingham hope after they had been breached by Danny Murphy and Steven Gerrard, but also headed the equaliser off the inside of a post. The contest was in its fourth and final minute of stoppage time, and Liverpool were about to go top of the Premiership.
Two seasons ago, when he was still with Crystal Palace, Morrison made the mistake of offering Michael Owen advice on how to score goals after the England striker had missed chances in the first leg of their Worthington Cup semi-final at Selhurst Park. Morrison was duly singled out for the contempt of the Liverpool fans when Palace were comprehensively beaten 5-0. This time, in his new role as Birmingham's record £5m signing, the boot was on the other foot.
Creditable as Birmingham's resilience was, questions must be asked about Liverpool's concentration, which seemed to lapse into complacency once they had established a two-goal lead. A measure of confidence was understandable against newly promoted opponents who had won just one of their first four games, but too many players adjusted to cruise control with more than a third of the match remaining.
Gérard Houllier felt "a sense of déjà vu" in the final moments. "We should have finished the game off before Birmingham had even scored," the Liverpool manager said, "and we should be top of the League as well. In our last three games, we've now conceded six points in the final few minutes. Our strikers are just not finding the net." Owen, indeed, is enduring one of the most barren spells of his goal-laden career. His tally for the season stands at one penalty, and he fluffed a succession of opportunities to put Liverpool 3-0 up and out of reach.
Instead, Morrison clawed a goal back just after the hour mark, after which Birmingham's manager, Steve Bruce, made a bold triple substitution 15 minutes from the end to give his side a sharper attacking edge. One of the replacements, Stan Lazaridis, supplied the cross from which Morrison ensured an implausible parity.
Bruce, whose first match in charge of Birmingham had been a 3-0 FA Cup defeat at Liverpool last January, said: "We've made big strides since then. We showed bottle, commitment and honesty. We just don't give in. If we carry on through the season like that, we should be okay." An expertly executed set-piece brought Liverpool a 25th-minute lead. Bryan Hughes, Birmingham's self-declared Evertonian, brought down El Hadji Diouf 25 yards out. With great aplomb and accuracy, Murphy curled the ball over the defensive wall to beat Nico Vaesen by his right-hand upright.
Birmingham fell further behind in the 49th minute. Seizing on a clearance inside Liverpool's half, Diouf ran unchallenged to the edge of the 18-yard area, where he swerved past Darren Purse and fed the overlapping Gerrard. Vaesen managed to land a touch on the fierce diagonal drive but failed to keep it out.
It seemed a matter of how many Liverpool, and Owen in particular, would score. In the 61st minute, however, Stern John's low cross found Morrison arriving to turn the ball past Jerzy Dudek. The Republic of Ireland striker saved his best for last, poetic justice of sorts after Birmingham were held in the final seconds at Everton last month.
Liverpool (4-4-2): Dudek 6; Carragher 5, Henchoz 6 (Heskey 5, h-t), Hyypia 6, Traoré 6; Murphy 7, Gerrard 7, Hamann 6, Riise 5 (Diao 5, 72); Owen 5, Diouf 6 (Berger, 78). Substitutes not used: Baros, Kirkland (gk).
Birmingham City (4-4-2): Vaesen 6; Kenna 6, Cunningham 7, Purse 6, Grainger 5; Devlin 5, Savage 6, Hughes 5 (Horsfield 5, 75), D Johnson 5, (Lazaridis 5, 75); John 5 (Carter, 75), Morrison 7. Substitutes not used: Eaden, Bennett (gk).
Referee: N Barry (Scunthorpe) 6.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments