Bolton 1-2 Liverpool (FA Cup Replay)

Gutted. Knew it was going to be a tough game and we rode or luck a little but i think as soon as danns lunged in we all knew what was coming.  Eidur and mills looked half dead by 80 minutes.  Good to see feeney actually trying to get a yard of space to cross instead of constantly turning back to lay it back.  Dervites challenge on sterling when sterling was through was as good as a goal.  Lonners unlucky getting done through the legs with the first but nothing could stop that second one.

Mills was a quality target man, actually might have been better than Heskey.

What's everyone's thoughts on Dervite, seen a few fans slating him since he came in. He's looked superb anytime I've seen him

Boggersbelief wrote:What's everyone's thoughts on Dervite, seen a few fans slating him since he came in. He's looked superb anytime I've seen him

Like i said before his last ditch tackle on sterling was as good as a goal. I think he can lose concentration particularly early on but overall seems pretty solid

Report: Bolton 1-2 Liverpool

IN BRIEF

Ten man Wanderers exited the FA Cup at the fourth round stage following a 2-1 defeat by Liverpool at Macron Stadium.

The Whites had opened the scoring in the clash through Eidur Gudjohnsen from the penalty spot after Zach Clough had been fouled, but were then down to ten men after the dismissal of Neil Danns for a second bookable offence.

The Reds capitalised on their man advantage from thereon in and eventually drew level through Raheem Sterling with four minutes remaining before Phillippe Coutinho broke Bolton hearts in added time with a long distance effort which eluded Andrew Lonergan.

TEAM NEWS

Zach Clough retained his starting place from the weekend’s draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Dean Moxey and Eidur Gudjohnsen also made it into the side from the off for Wanderers.

The bench however boasted a number of youngsters, with Oscar Threlkeld, Georg Iliev and Tom Walker all taking their place amongst the substitutes.

FIRST HALF

The game began with gusto from both sides, but clear cut changes were few and far between inside the opening stages of the clash.

The visitors were to enjoy the first opportunity of the game with seven minutes on the clock, with Steven Gerrard’s strike from just inside the box through a crowded penalty area being comfortably saved by Andrew Lonergan.

Clough was the first Bolton man to test the Liverpool defence as he made a mazy run through midfield, but the young striker was ultimately halted in his tracks as he was just about to power inside the box.

Liam Feeney was next in the midst of the madness with his lofty ball into the area somehow eluding three Wanderers bodies, while Raheem Sterling’s angled strike was gathered by Lonergan at the second time of asking up the other end of the field.

Josh Vela and Gudjohnsen almost linked up perfectly with 15 minutes of the game gone as the midfielder found the Icelander unmarked twelve yards from goal, but the frontman put too much power behind his effort and saw it clear the crossbar.

With confidence growing and Wanderers pushing the Reds further and further into their own half, Wanderers came within inches of opening the scoring as Feeney found David Wheater’s head with a swinging free-kick, only to see Simon Mignolet get down low to deny the defender.

It was all one way traffic from the home side inside the opening quarter of the clash with Bolton enjoying the majority of the chances as Liverpool struggled to break down a stubborn Wanderers defence.

With Brendan Rodgers’ side having barely made tracks into Bolton territory, they nearly snatched the lead against the run of play with 13 minutes of the half to go as Sterling found himself in space just outside the six yard box, with the forward’s strike eventually coming off the post.

Matt Mills meanwhile, playing in a more advanced role up front, tried his luck from distance with a beautifully struck half volley which Mignolet had to be on his guard to collect.

As the half headed towards the break, Wanderers were again on the attack as yet another Feeney cross caused chaos amongst the Liverpool defence while Phillippe Coutinho attempted to beat Lonergan from distance but to no avail as the whistle went for half time.

SECOND HALF

With no changes for either side at the half time break, both teams came out for the restart visibly eager to be the first to find the back of the net and start the scoring in the tie.

The first real opportunity of the second period fell to Liverpool however, with Sterling finding himself with only the goalkeeper to beat as Dorian Dervite’s last ditch challenge whipped the ball from his feet with a goal seemingly imminent.

The visitors all of a sudden had Bolton on the backfoot, but the Whites’ defence was standing firming under pressure.

Out of nowhere though, Wanderers were handed the perfect opportunity to take the lead as Clough was fouled in the area by Martin Skrtel, with Gudjohnsen stepping up to calmly place the resulting spot-kick past Mignolet to send Macron Stadium into raptures.

Just what the game had been lacking, the match sprung into life from thereon in with Mills coming close for Bolton with a header with Feeney running riot down the right flank.

With 25 minutes remaining however, Wanderers were dealt a blow as Neil Danns was sent off for a second bookable offence.

Right from the madness however, Bolton almost had a second as Clough sprinted downfield, turned his man before unleashing an effort which rippled the near side of the net, while Gudjohnsen squandered a second as his close range header failed to trouble the Liverpool keeper with 20 minutes remaining.

With a man advantage however Liverpool pushed forward and were inches away from an equaliser as David Wheater headed Jordan Henderson’s strike onto the post with Lonergan beaten.

Sterling and Daniel Sturridge were next to come close for Liverpool, only to be denied by some last ditch defending while Henderson saw his effort from distance fly harmlessly wide.

Emre Can was next to rattle the woodwork for the visitors, with Lonergan’s palms denying the Liverpool man the equalising goal with seven minutes left.

Having pushed in their droves, Liverpool were finally rewarded with four minutes remaining as Sterling slotted home from close range after collecting Can’s volley into the box.

With five minutes of time indicated, Liverpool completed the comeback as Phillippe Coutinho curled home from just outside the box to send the visiting supporters into raptures.

There was still time for Wanderers to come close through Liam Trotter from close range while Fabio Borini forced the Bolton keeper into a smart save from close range, but there were no further goals as Liverpool progressed at the expense of the Whites.

FULL TIME

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Only sour note (apart from the Danns aberration and Trotter's sheer ineptitude) was Rodgers' post-match interview. Graceless, churlish, and lacking in both fair-mindedness and generosity of spirit. He is blind to the realities of the game. It was hard to find fault with any of our starting eleven until Danns lost his composure. Must maintain this standard now in the league.

Boggersbelief wrote:What's everyone's thoughts on Dervite, seen a few fans slating him since he came in. He's looked superb anytime I've seen him

I agree

okocha wrote:Only sour note (apart from the Danns aberration and Trotter's sheer ineptitude) was Rodgers' post-match interview. Graceless, churlish, and lacking in both fair-mindedness and generosity of spirit. He is blind to the realities of the game. It was hard to find fault with any of our starting eleven until Danns lost his composure. Must maintain this standard now in the league.

From what I read (and I did not see the video), he sounded like a wanker.  With a team of all-stars, he should be doing better in his division (15 behind Chelsea and only have a +6 in GD), and should have spanked us at Anfield. I guess he is feeling sorry for his sorry performance this season and had to lash out why it was so hard to beat us.  I'm not sure if his all-stars would have won if we had eleven on the pitch, but I am very proud of our lads. Imagine if we had a full squad today!

If Danns didn't get sent off and Good John scored that header ..... All ifs and buts.

The boys worked hard and pushed them all the way, unlucky.

Boggersbelief wrote:What's everyone's thoughts on Dervite, seen a few fans slating him since he came in. He's looked superb anytime I've seen him

Derive is different player since Lennon got a grip. Looks quality and a cool head.
Pratley was a big miss last night in my opinion, but yet another who's stepped up a level.

when i saw the team to start with i couldn't understand why Mills was up front but to be fair he did well. The 3 centre backs had a great game (as did everyone).

It was a shame Danns got sent off as from that moment it was going to be an even bigger struggle keeping them but it felt inevetible they would at least get an equaliser. The goal that Coutinho scored was world class so no shame in going out to that, he is hands down Liverpools best player.

All in all a great performance with a patched up team

Wonderful game, awful result but some great moments to remember especially Mills crossfield pass and Dervite's tackle. Really disappointed and proud in equal measure.

Gerrard had a very quiet game

In Velas pocket all night.

I was a good game, and 10 of the 11 players gave everything.

Having said that, what is the point of playing Mills in attack (who played well I thought) and not peppering the Liverpool box with crosses? Too many times the likes of Gudjohnsen, Vela, Feeney and Clough got into crossing positions and played it backwards or sideways.

And we had several free-kicks midway into their half, why weren't these kicked long towards Mills?

Very strange tactics and probably cost us as much as that dick Danns.

I agree with you about Mills, the times we caused them trouble was when we got the ball in the air to him. He was pulling off Skrtel every time and his knockdown is what got the ball to Clough for the pen.

Harsh on Danns though, a stupid challenge but he was just too slow unfortunately, was having a great game too. If Clough had released the ball sooner Danns would never have had to make that challenge - Clough's decision making will improve with experience though.

Some good performances last night so am wondering if it will be a completely different team for the league or whether Lennon will introduce the loanees gradually.

i think Bannan will be the only one to come straight in to the team, the rest i would guess would be introduced gradually

Just watched the highlights Karly posted and on there our penalty looked dodgy - not even sure if there was contact. Trotter was daydreaming when Sterling scored and Eidur's header was more of a sitter than I'd thought. Despite all that plus Dannsy being daft I still enjoyed watching it.

As soon as I saw the penalty it didn't look like one to me either, it just looks like he simulated it tbh with his leg.