Fans Comment
Paul Traill

Virtual Reality
26 March 2005

Like everyone else I’m sure, I still haven't really gotten over the derby and would love the West Brom game to be this weekend instead of next weekend just so that I had something else to think about.  I’m sorry but seeing Rooney score a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Northern Ireland won’t quite do it for me.

So some food for thought.  Like we all know, we were crap.  It wasn’t the fact that they were a genuinely better team which hurts —  it was the absolute lack of effort from our players.  I’ve seen us lose more derby’s than I’d care to remember in the last five years or so but I reckon that’s the first time I’ve seen us get beaten by a lack of effort.  It just wasn’t there.

Nevertheless, things could have gone quite differently on another day:

Match in a nutshell (Scenario A)

Liverpool kick off the derby at a fast pace and for the first 20 minutes we can’t get out of our own half.  Then, just when it seems we have weathered the early storm, Gerrard’s 20-yard free-kick is stroked home past a badly placed Martyn.  Shortly afterwards, Morrinetes hits a speculative half-volley on the turn which Martyn can only flap onto the bar.  Garcia is there to head home the rebound with Everton’s defence watching on.  Everton deservedly 2-0 down.  Just before half-time Lee Carsley curls a free kick agonisingly wide with Everton’s only shot all half and Everton go in 0-2 down at half-time.

In the second half, Everton battle a bit better but in truth Liverpool are far superior and are quite comfortable.  Baros misses two sitters before getting himself sent off for an dreadful challenge on Alan Stubbs.  It’s only then that Everton seize the initiative and Cahill strikes with nine minutes left but it’s little too late and Everton succumb to a 2-1 defeat to leave Liverpool now just four points behind Everton.

It could have been worse (Scenario B)

Liverpool kick off the derby at a fast pace and for the first 20 minutes we can’t get out of our own half.  Then, just when it seems we have weathered the early storm, Gerrard’s 20-yard free-kick is stroked home past a badly placed Martyn. Shortly afterwards, Morrinetes hits a speculative half-volley on the turn which Martyn can only flap onto the bar.  Garcia is there to head home the rebound with Everton’s defence watching on.  Everton deservedly 2-0 down.  Just before half-time, Lee Carsley curls a free kick agonisingly wide with Everton’s only shot all half and Everton go in 0-2 down at half-time.

In the second half, Everton battle a bit better but in truth Liverpool are far superior and are quite comfortable.  Things are made worse when a dreadful error by Stubbs presents Baros with an opportunity which he tucks home sweetly, sending Martyn the wrong way, and shortly afterwards a similar opportunity sees him net to make it 4-0.  Baros later gets himself sent off for an awful challenge on Stubbs.  It is only now when Everton get a goal, an excellent finish by Cahill, but its damaged limitation and Liverpool deservedly thrash Everton 4-1.

The difference between losing and wining (Scenario C)

Liverpool kick off towards the Kop at a fast and energetic pace but fail to put an telling pressure on the Everton goal, with their only real efforts on goal coming from a Gerrard free kick which is comfortably held by Martyn and a speculative effort by Morrientes which Martyn comfortably touches over the bar.  Despite all their possession, it is in fact Everton who come closest to scoring just before half time when Carsley's free-kick curls no more than a foot over the bar.

In the second half, Everton are a bit more in the game but it’s nearly all Liverpool.  Baros misses two golden opportunities for the reds before becoming villan and receiving a red card for a nasty challenge on Alan Stubbs.  It is here where Everton seize the initiative and punish Baros and Liverpool.  Cahill’s excellent drive from a Ferguson flick gives Everton a glorious, if slightly fortuitous, win at Anfield for the first time since 1999.  There are jubilant scenes on the field and amongst the supporters as Everton practically guarantee Champions League football and are now 9 points above 4th place Bolton with Liverpool a miserable 5th.

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Sorry, I got a bit carried away with Scenario C but I’m sure you see my point.  It’s a funny old game.  In reality, those goals really should not have gone in and on another day we could have been celebrating a win even with that performance.  No, we didn’t deserve it; we got what we deserved...  but now it's time to move on.

Next up is West Brom.  We can have the same team available that day as we did the last time we were in the Midlands in what was a performance that everyone seems quite happy to forget about at the moment.  Aston Villa 1-3 Everton.  That was on the back of a high-profile defeat at home to Man Utd as well.

Come on you blues, it’s still more than possible.

Paul  Traill

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