Rovers Return (Leg) For The Reds

Daniel Sturridge and Adam
Lallana line up for a first-half
corner against Blackburn Rovers.

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Result: Liverpool 0-0 Blackburn Rovers
Date: Sunday March 8 2015
Competition: FA Cup (Quarter-Final)
Venue: Anfield, Liverpool
Attendance: 43,820

Liverpool will have to wait - and wait - before knowing if Wembley is on the horizon after a goalless draw against Blackburn Rovers.

The FA Cup represents Liverpool's only realistic chance of silverware for this season, and so fans were hoping for the Reds to take a comfortable step forward; however, the Championship side put up a great fight, albeit defensively, and so a replay is required at Ewood Park.

Mind you, the return leg won't be for a couple of weeks due to fixture complications, meaning that both sides will only have ten or eleven days to prepare for the Semi-Final once this tie eventually produces a winner.

Liverpool went into this side high on confidence after some very impressive results in recent weeks, and they were buoyed further by the reduced field which meant that avoiding the winner of the Manchester United-Arsenal clash in the Semis will provide a relatively safe route to Wembley.

But that would be to discount their opponents, who aren't having the best of campaigns in the Championship but are still a tough side to break down on their day, and having nothing to lose, they employed a defensive strategy to ensure that they could either score on the break or bring the tie back to Ewood Park where they will press forward more in search of an unlikely win.

On this day, the game began on an unpleasant note when just moments in, Martin Skrtel suffered a nasty fall which left him down, surrounded by medical staff and not moving for a long time, for several minutes in a tense scene. It was a relief when Skrtel gave a thumbs-up from his stretcher when leaving to a standing ovation, and it was further good news when it was later revealed that Skrtel had suffered a concussion but nothing more.

His replacement in defence Kolo Toure actually had an impressive game, and it was Toure who put the ball in the net for the home side but an offside flag ruled it out. Toure himself later appeared to pull up with an injury but, with the game in full flow, he could do little but struggle on while awkwardly having to dispatch a ball given to him by Glen Johnson, but he appeared to get over the setback as the game progressed.

Otherwise, there wasn't too much to say about this match. Liverpool had chances but lacked the cutting edge that they possessed against Burnley on Wednesday night. They had moments where an opener seemed likely, but it wasn't to be. The introduction of Mario Balotelli didn't make much of a difference, although I think some of the criticism that Balotelli suffered after this game was unwarranted. Some people always look for a scapegoat or a reason (Johnson blamed the condition of the Anfield pitch) instead of just admitting that it wasn't your day. I personally felt that even if the match had gone on for another 30 minutes, and the Reds still wouldn't have scored under the circumstances.

This was due to Blackburn clearly setting up for a draw, and virtually having 11 men behind the ball towards the end. They did have a couple of chances themselves, mind you, the closest being an Alex Baptiste header from close range which was superbly saved by Simon Mignolet. Both sides also had penalty appeals turned down, one for Liverpool after a tackle on Adam Lallana (I thought sitting in the Kop that this was a penalty; replays later showed that it was not), and for Blackburn after an apparent handball by Raheem Stirling (which was a little harder to turn down, although I still think it would have been a harsh decision).

The game suffered from Skrtel's early injury which quietened the fans for an extended period, but it was also waiting for something to spark it into life. It wasn't a lost cause by any means, but it needed something to energise it, something to draw you in and make you believe that a goal may have been coming. Blackburn's sturdy defence ensured that it wasn't going to happen, although the Reds didn't test Rovers keeper Simon Eastwood enough to make one believe that the Reds had dominated.

Indeed, Blackburn thoroughly deserved a draw from this game; the only downer is how long fans of both sides will have to wait before knowing who will go onto the Semi-Finals. Gary Bowyer was unquestionably the happier of the two managers, although Brendan Rodgers had to be more concerned with Skrtel's health after his awkward tumble.

And so Liverpool hope to march onto Wembley having drawn their two home ties with no goals in either game (Iago Aspas is the only man to have scored for the Reds at Anfield in an FA Cup tie under Rodgers, believe it or not). Hopefully the return leg, when it finally happens, will provide an entertaining game that will give the Reds more bite in their pursuit of the FA Cup but, so long as they come away with a win, Kopites won't mind. The dream lives on, but a more ruthless approach will be needed to keep such hopes alive.

FA Cup 4th Round Recap

Emile Heskey in action against
Liverpool. (Image Source: BBC Sport)

Written By: Bashir Yusuf

Arsenal through, Liverpool and Man Utd forced to settle for replays amidst shock exits for Premier League giants

The absence of Premier League football this weekend meant that the FA cup fourth round had to live up to its billing, and didn't it do just that. We have always known FA cup weekends to come up with one or two surprises; nonetheless, no one would have predicted the amount of shocks that awaited this weekend.

Jon Stead celebrates Bradford's first
goal. (Image Source: BBC Sport)

Manchester United kicked off the fourth round in an unusual Friday fixture away to Richard Money's Cambridge United. The following day, Chelsea welcomed League One side Bradford City to Stamford Bridge, Manchester City were at home to Middlesbrough, and in the evening kick-off, Liverpool played host to Bolton Wanderers. Elsewhere, Leicester City travelled to White Hart Lane, while Alan Pardew and his Crystal Palace side travelled to St. Mary's Stadium; in addition, Arsenal travelled to Brighton & Hove Albion for another potential banana skin tie.

Beginning with our local entry (Everton had been dispatched in the previous round by West Ham United), joining Liverpool legends Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish in the stands at Anfield was captain Steven Gerrard, who as he approaches the end of his Liverpool career is being closely managed by Brendan Rodgers; his absence here ensured his inclusion for the second leg of the League Cup semi-final against Chelsea this Tuesday. The atmosphere was as electric as ever with the Kop at their loudest. With Gerrard absent, Jordan Henderson captained the side, whilst Javier Manquillo, Jose Enrique, Joe Allen and Adam Lallana all returned to the starting XI.

As expected, the home side had the majority of possession, although whenever Neil Lennon's Bolton side had a spell in control, they looked comfortable and full of ideas. Still, despite a strike force including Eidur Gudjohnsen and former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, they finished the match without a shot on target but, crucially, didn't concede either. The first half showcased some quality play from the team in red, but never enough to get on the score-line. Raheem Sterling and fellow countryman Henderson were involved in everything good coming Liverpool's way, with the latter hitting a decent shot that required an equally decent save from Hungarian keeper Adam Bogdan. The Trotters had half-decent chances of their own, but not enough to make a difference, and this resulted to both teams going into half-time goalless.

Lazar Markovic was introduced in the second half and soon had a penalty claim. Replays showed that the foul had happened outside the box, but there was enough contact that a free kick should have been awarded. Referee Kevin Friend further frustrated LFC fans by ignoring penalty appeals after a clumsy challenge by former red Jay Spearing on Henderson in the area. Besides this and further Liverpool chances, the second half was more notable for Bolton's strong defending, earning themselves a return leg in their own backyard, where they feel their chances of progression would be higher. The home supporters were beginning to be out-mourned by their opposition fans, as a return leg began to appear very possible. Liverpool had their chances but couldn't take them, and so the match ended in a goalless draw. A replay was not ideal for Brendan Rodgers, who suddenly has a busy fixture list with this two-parter adding to his Premier League commitments, Europa League preparations and, of course, that vital League Cup clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Away from Anfield, the major FA Cup headlines for the weekend were the shock eliminaiton of Chelsea and Manchester City. Chelsea was the bigger surprise since they were facing a side two divisions below them, are currently the best team in the country, and were two goals up inside 38 minutes. Jonathan Stead pulled one back for the Bantams with a sumptuous strike just before half-time, but even then many would have expected the London giants to finish the game off in the second half; nobody expected Bradford to level things up, never mind win. But win they did, as goals from Filipe Morais, Andy Halliday and Mark Yeates completed the shock of the day, and one of the biggest surprises in the competition's rich history. Jose Mourinho, a two-time Champions League winning coach, described the defeat as a "disgrace" considering the level of their opposition (although he did praise Bradford's performance), and said his side should be ashamed of themselves. With Liverpool at the Bridge in mid-week, the West London side who had been eyeing up a quadruple could be out of two competitions in less than a week.

In Manchester, another scintillating encounter took form as Championship side Middlesbrough took an unlikely lead against Manchester City via Chelsea loanee Patrick Bamford. City were playing a very strong team with Kun Aguero present, but they looked clueless as they battled to break the Boro defence, leaving theirs wide open. Their misery was completed when Boro secured the win with a stoppage time goal from Kike. In the aftermath, Manuel Pellegrini was criticised for over-working his squad, after his side were only hours removed from returning after an unusual mid-season trip to Abu Dhabi which included a friendly against Hamburg.

The red half of Manchester are still in the pot but, like their rivals Liverpool, had to settle for a replay after a below average performance led to a goalless draw at League Two side Cambridge United - a result which would have gotten greater attention had the major upsets not occurred the following day. And they weren't over: Tottenham Hotspur are also out of the competition as Mauricio Pochettino's side fell by two goals to one at home to Leicester City. In addition, Southampton were dumped out - again on home soil - by Alan Pardew's revitalised Crystal Palace side in a mouth-watering 3-2 encounter. And Gylfi Sigurdsson made the headlines for scoring a cracker and getting a red card as Swansea troubles continued with a 2-1 exit to Blackburn Rovers. Reading, West Bromwich Albion and Derby County all made it through to the next round as well. Replays are to determine the fate of Preston North End and Sheffield United and Sunderland and Fulham.

Sunday was a little less explosive, although FA Cup holders Arsenal just about managed a 3-2 win over Brighton, with German World Cup winner Mesut Ozil on the score-sheet after a long injury break, along with Theo Walcott and Tomas Rosicky, who poached the winning goal. Aston Villa and West Ham United also secured their spots in the fifth round with wins, as did Stoke City on Monday night.

With the two main favourites out, Liverpool have a strong chance of going all the way to Wembley come May to mark Steven Gerrard's exit with a bang. But Arsenal are also dreaming of retaining the trophy, which is never an easy task, and Wayne Rooney also has his eyes on what could finally be his first FA Cup winner's medal to complete his collection. And who knows, could Bradford City take their fairytale journey all the way to Wembley? Either way, an exhilarating fourth round has resulted in the most open FA Cup in years, as literally anything could happen between now and May 30.