Tea x 2 = £4
Ticket = £3
Train (Sheffield-London) = £48-85
Oyster card = c. £15 each
(Another) tea = £1-85
Parking = £15.50/2 = £7.75
Total = £80-45
'Poetry in motion / Tra la la la la'. So goes one of the famous Anfield anthems. In truth their football at times has resembled a stuttering and stumbling prose, rather than the startling rhythm and pace of last season.
Thanks to the late date for the Blackburn replay, we only managed to get tickets for this on Saturday 11th. This was our second FA Cup semi final with the club, but Mrs Groundhopper was no less happy when a nervous morning on the iPod, phone and laptop resulted in 2 tickets. Phew!
The journey down on the Sunday was smooth, taking just over 2 hours from Sheffield to London, then a bit longer out to Wembley. I had planned ahead for once, loading Oyster cards before travelling. Coming out of Wembley Park station, we drank in the building atmosphere up Wembley Way, as fans streamed towards the ground.
Strangely once inside the ground took a while to fill up, but suddenly seemed full once the game kicked off. The atmosphere was great, and I have to admit far better than most England games. Disappointingly Liverpool did not rise to the occasion. From the first whistle, they were flat and lacked creativity, pinging it from side to side with little purpose. I was shocked at how much space Benteke was allowed on the ball, which was causing Liverpool lots of headaches in defence. The formation and selection was bizarre - with Henderson and Allen forming part of the midfield box, there were similar players competing for the same position. Despite their poor start, Liverpool took the lead when Coutinho played a one-two and ran through superbly to slot home. At this point I wondered if they might scrape through despite their performance. Within a few minutes, however, Villa equalised through Benteke who was seemingly unmarked in a dangerous area.
When the teams came out for the second half, I was sure that it couldn't get any worse for Liverpool. Bang! On 54 minutes the excellent Fabian Delph made it 2-1 to Villa. The red end of Wembley became quiet and flat, with the far end positively bouncing. On about 80 minutes Liverpool suddenly realised they were playing a football match, with Gerrard's free kick saved and Lovren heading over unmarked on 84 minutes. Gerrard almost looked like he had saved them when he flicked a header on from a corner, only to see it cleared off the line. Balotelli, who had actually been one of the more effective attackers, was then adjudged offside when he planted it in. Replays showed that it was onside so one crumb of comfort was that they had been a little unlucky today.
We've now seen one semi final win and one loss, and the latter was absolutely galling. It was the manner of today's defeat which was disappointing. No leadership on or off the pitch, no desire to win the game when they had half an hour to score, and a nonexistent tactical system. Credit to Villa, who played as a team, showed great tenacity and determination, and looked like they wanted a place in the cup final. Defeats happen in football for sure, but it was the manner of this surrender which was so depressing.
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