Match ticket: £56
Train (Sheffield-Liverpool advance): £17-15
Bus to Anfield: £4
Programme: £3
Tea x2: £3-37
Total: £83-52
Bizarrely, we managed to get tickets for this game whilst missing out for the lesser games in the bulk members’ sale. We qualified with this having had 9 games on our cards from last year – such are the vagaries of the way tickets are made available at Anfield these days! I’ve been determined this year to keep costs down wherever possible, and we managed to do the travelling for £17-15 each (advance fares with the Two Together railcard). Despite my best efforts, the costs are rising heavily for our trips to Anfield – tickets for this equivalent fixture in 2012/13 (likewise with Main Stand tickets) cost us £47 each. To be honest, we were more pleased to get the tickets in the first place as they are so hard to come by; and of course, this is one of Liverpool’s big games of the season.
The game started as you would expect for a Merseyside derby, with passionate tackling, quick passing and smatterings of good movement in midfield. Liverpool bossed possession in the first half, but couldn’t find that killer pass, so frequently ended up frustrated and nullified. This had all the hallmarks of the 0-0 draw in 2012/13, when a decent game finished all square because the teams were cancelling each other out. Mario Balotelli looked lively and more involved than in previous games, and according to the stats, had 10 shots on the goal. As ever, Sterling was fast and furious on the wing, but couldn’t forge many chances or assists.
The second-half began much the same as the first, this time with Liverpool in the ascendancy. There has been a real lack of fluidity to their play this season, but now they started to resemble the team who had come so close to the title last year. There started to be smarter interchanges in midfield, and flashes of the pace and aggression which took them so far barely a few months ago. Just when it looked like they might be frustrated again, Gerrard scored a superb 65th minute free-kick to make it 1-0. Within a minute, Balotelli had rattled the cross-bar, and actually replays showed it was tipped on by Tim Howard. They pressed and pressed, and while there was still sometimes a lack of directness to their play, the possession and command of the ball merited 3 points here. The clock at the Kop end ticked to 90 minutes, and it looked like they were on the way to a key win. Then up popped the unlikeliest of Everton heroes – Phil Jagielka – with a thunderous drive from outside the box which zipped into the top corner. There was barely time to restart the game before the final whistle, and Everton had nicked a 1-1 draw here. Liverpool had been much better – the performance was definitely an improvement, but they need to get better at closing out games in which they are in control.
No comments:
Post a Comment