Ticket = £51
Train = £23-10
Tea x2 = £3.95
Programme = £3
Juice = £1.50
Bus to Anfield = £4
Total = £86-55
So today we headed to Anfield again for a game I really wasn't looking forward to. The Reds have slipped off the pace in recent weeks with a defeat at Hull and draw at West Brom, making Champions League qualification less and less likely. In fact the game was the best we've seen there all year - an open and unpredictable Premier League battle. In the away corner were QPR, a club in major turmoil. I recall writing about Cardiff City when they visited in December 2013, and here's another club being as badly run - maybe more so.
I have to say there was a certain atmosphere building even on the bus, unlike some games which have fallen a bit flat. Like the 2 FA Cup games we were in the Centenary, to the far right, almost directly above the Anfield Road end. The stand is by far the most comfortable and spacious, not quite as intimate as the Main Stand.
QPR did not look like a side in the bottom 3. Number 7, 8 and 9 were particularly busy and creative in midfield and attack, and an early shot by 10 was tipped wide by Mignolet. At the other end Gerrard was lining up his shots like an artillery gunner, firing wide from outside the box. Then the excellent Coutinho opened the scoring, slotting in from inside the box after a swift attacking move. He has been a player of great value this year, a bright spark in an otherwise difficult season.
The second half started with a succession of Liverpool attacks at the Kop end. Sterling had the goal at his mercy with a sitter but again found himself leaden-footed. Lovren then had a header saved, and it looked like Liverpool would comfortably win. But QPR have some fight in them, and equalised when 10 volleyed in when surrounded by some statuesque defenders.
Then the home side were awarded a penalty. As Gerrard stepped up to take it, it looked like this was the end of the game. So of course the penalty was saved and the disappointment was tangible around the ground. QPRs fighting spirit meant they then had 15 sent off for a second yellow, and began to look like they were hanging on. As if in defiance of his earlier penalty miss, Gerrard then stepped up to head home from a corner in front of the Kop. Could that be his last goal at that end of the ground, or even Anfield altogether? As we made our way back to the bus and train station thereafter, I got a definite sense that we are nearing the end of an era. Not just Gerrard leaving the club, but also with the expansion of the Main Stand, and more questions around the direction of Brendan Rodgers' management. What will the next chapter bring?
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