Liverpool end Cherries' Capital One Cup run 1-3 (fancam video)

Match Report

AFCB 3 v 1 Liverpool

Capital One Cup Quarter Final

17 December 2014

Attendance: 11, 347

The Capital One Cup on show.

A team in crisis, lacking in confidence, rudderless. Well there was very little of that on show at the Goldsands as Liverpool's fast, lively passing in the last third during the first 20 minutes was every bit Premier League quality, as the yellow and red shirts left the Cherries behind in a blur for most of the first half, and AFCB stood off rather too much at times. That is not to take anything away from a Liverpool side that came to the south coast needing a win not only to progress in the Capital One Cup, but to restore the knocks that they have been dealt in recent weeks, crashing out of the Champions League and suffering Premier league defeats that have left them seven points off fourth place.

Chimes' FanCam: Adam, Andy and Ben - three Liverpool fans who give their opinions pre-match.

It was billed as a potential banana skin for Liverpool to come to Bournemouth in this quarter final match and the Sky cameras were there as well as the national media in huge numbers to see if the Championship leaders could cause an upset. For Eddie Howe there was a need to know how much his side had got closer to an established Premier League team having lost to them in the FA Cup last January. Yet, the side he selected had six changes in it to the last league match and with Liverpool also having Arsenal at the weekend there were some big names missing from their 11 as well.

The players make their way on to the pitch.

The teams get ready.

A quick team photo.

There are more pictures on Match Day Gallery.

As early as the fourth minute the Cherries should have been ahead as Callum Wilson wriggled his way into a shooting position inside the box only to fire wide! It could have been the start that would have put real pressure on the Liverpool players considering their recent run of results, but the miss stirred Liverpool into life. Within minutes Adam Lallana was showing his speed and eye for goal with a powerful drive from the edge of the box that brought the very best out of Artur Boruc.

Liverpool simply had more time and speed of passing as the game progressed and they were soon in full control with Coutinho and Markovic especially impressive in the last third of the pitch. The match was flying past at great pace and Bournemouth were soon having to make many blocks as shots started to come in all too frequently from the yellow shirts. Lallana was drifting infield and causing all kinds of problems to pick up and Coutinho was equally menacing. Standing off Liverpool was helping to keep AFCB's shape but it was not allowing them to put and pressure on the Merseysiders who were not missing many passes and always looked like they could thread a ball through to Raheem Stirling at any moment. The breakthrough came on 20 minutes after a sequence of 52 Liverpool passes in a row. Lazar Markovic on the left wing played a ball over to Henderson at the far post and when he nodded back across the goal Stirling had an easy task to head in from six yards. 

AFCB were finding it difficult to string many passes together and they simply could not get the ball back when they lost it. Liverpool were able to move the ball around as though it were under their spell and they glided into dangerous areas of the pitch effortlessly at times. The stuffing was knocked out of the Cherries further on 27 minutes when Elphick, up against Coutinho in the box, stopped and put his arm up having heard a whistle. It allowed Coutinho to get a crisp shot off that Boruc kept out with his legs but the ball sped out to Markovic to score his first Liverpool goal from around the penalty spot with a rasping drive to the keeper's left - 0-2.

At this stage it was a worry how many the Cherries might concede on the night, because Liverpool looked very much up for the game and the Bournemouth players were doing their best but were not really getting anywhere near close enough to the opposition. Well, at least we thought that until Francis made a characteristic run down the right wing just after Liverpool had scored and pulled back a cross to Yann Kermorgant who was in the clear just on the penalty spot and yet he blasted his shot over with goal gaping!

Still, Adam Smith was having a good game at left back and Baily Cargill looked the most assured of all of AFCB's players on the pitch at centre back. At half time though Bournemouth were 2-nil down and in need of some inspiration. The gulf in play between the two teams looked like it might be too much for the Cherries to bridge.

Liverpool's dominance in midfield and strong finishing saw them 0-2 up at half time.

Second half
Liverpool made a sub at half time with Lovren being replaced by Sakho at the back. While everyone knew the next goal would be vital a mistake by Yann Kermorgant allowed Toure to gather the ball and pass to Lallana who in turn found Stirling who turned Elphick one way and then the other before firing his shot into the bottom left corner - 0-3! That seemed like it was all over.

Bournemouth don't give up though and two substitutes by Eddie Howe soon started to help the crowd see more of the Bournemouth that has seen them do so well in the Championship. Yann Kermorgant and Junior Stanislas were replaces and Harry Arter and Ryan Fraser joined the action as AFCB started to impose themselves on the game with more urgency. The lifeline for the Cherries came on 57 minutes when Dan Gosling broke into the box after reaching a cross from Ritchie and he smashed the ball home past Kolo Toure and Brad Jones to make it 1-3.

There was plenty of time for a comeback and there was a sense that this game might not be over yet. That was more or less confirmed when a cross from O'Kane on the right was almost put away by a header from Ryan Fraser that was unchallenged but fell just wide of the post and out of reach for Callum Wilson on 65 minutes.

The anxious Liverpool players were even more troubled to see Raheem Stirling miss a brilliant opportunity to get his hat-trick when Adam Lallana flicked on a ball in the box for him to shoot wide from eight yards out. It was a let off and AFCB soon went about trying to make Liverpool pay for the miss in one of their best spells. Adam Smith was still beating Liverpool players for fun at times and Arter's drive was carrying the Bournemouth players forward. Harry Arter's quick thinking was making a difference and he fed Gosling on the edge of the box on 68 minutes only to see Dan's shot powered off the left post! If that had gone in it would have been a battle royal for the last 20 minutes.  

Instead Liverpool were able to see out the remainder of the match with that scare and while Francis had a bash at shooting from distance that saw the ball fly into the North stand, AFCB's darting runs with Ryan Fraser and Matt Ritchie did not open up significant further opportunities. Brett Pitman had 10 minutes to try and get another goal back having been waiting to come on for some five minutes on the touchline. Liverpool had already brought on Emre Can for Coutinho on 74 minutes and Gerrard was given a big round of applause when he was subbed for Borini on 89 minutes.

The final whistle goes.

A hard night for the Cherries.

Eddie Howe waves to the crowd.

The players swap a shirt or two.

Liverpool fans enjoy the win.

Summary
While Liverpool had been comfortable winners there was a sense that Eddie Howe and the players learned more from this match than last time the two teams met. Liverpool were superior for vast sections of the first half, but AFCB pulled some of that possession back in the second half and had they have found the net with some of the missed chances the game could have been closer in the end. Again Liverpool had shown though that they are a good side going forward when they find their fast tempo and Lallana, Coutinho and Markovic were the players that stood out for me in making things happen. However, the Cherries also showed their are ways of getting at Liverpool which they managed in the second half. Now the Cherries need to see if they can improve further by matching such teams for longer periods of a game. AFCB are out of this cup, but it was a valuable night for the players and the best team won the game. Good luck to Liverpool in the semi-final!

AFCB

Boruc, Francis, Elphick, Cargill, Smith, O'Kane (Pitman 81), Gosling, Ritchie, Kermorgant (Arter 53), Stanislas (Fraser 54'), Wilson

AFCB Subs
Camp, Cook, Arter, Pitman,  Daniels, MacDonald, Fraser
AFCB Ratings
Boruc 7, Francis 7, Elphick 7, Cargill 9, Smith 9, O'Kane 6, Gosling 9, Ritchie 7, Kermorgant 6, Stanislas 6, Wilson 6

Liverpool
Jones, K Touré, Skrtel, Lovren (Sakho 45), Henderson, Gerrard (Borini 90), Lucas, Markovic, Coutinho (Can 74'), Sterling, Lallana

Liverpool Ratings
Jones 6, K Touré 6, Skrtel 6, Lovren 5, Henderson 5, Gerrard 7, Lucas 7, Markovic 9, Coutinho 9, Sterling 8, Lallana 9

Liverpool Subs
Lambert, Sakho, Moreno, Manquillo, Mignolet, Can, Borini

Cup Special: Cherry Chimes talks to Anfield Online

Rival Lines
Capital One Cup Quarter Final
AFCB v Liverpool
Blogger Interview: Anfield Online

Cherry Chimes had the pleasure this week of having a quick chat with John Dowling who runs the popular Anfield Online website for Liverpool supporters. It has not been an easy time for the Reds as they go into this quarter final, but the magnitude of the match for Liverpool has probably escalated to quite a high level now even though such a game would usually seen as a regular fixture for the Anfield faithful who have won this competition a record eight times. That should kind of give AFCB fans a bit of a reality check having just reached the quarter final for the first time, but let's see if John think Liverpool fans should be confident of reaching the semi-finals this time around.  

CC: Bournemouth play brave passing football as Brendan Rogers has commented on, ie we won't kick lumps out of your players, so are the Cherries an ideal team for Liverpool to play mid-week considering the League fixtures you have on either side of this Capital One tie?

AO: Liverpool are struggling this season against every type of football. More direct sides have had plenty of joy mainly based on weaknesses at set-pieces and errors from Simon Mignolet. He has been dropped now in favour of our reserve keeper. Teams who play passing football are equally likely to build on errors from our defenders on the ground. Chief culprit in these situations being Dejan Lovren a defender who had a good first half in the first game of the season and has been generally hapless since.

CC: Any ideas on who you think might be in the starting line up for Liverpool against AFC Bournemouth?

AO: Jones is a definite starter currently. The Liverpool manager appears to be choosing favourites on a day to day basis at present. The side chosen away at Real Madrid looked more like a League Cup line up so it is increasingly difficult to choose a team. Rickie Lambert has sat out the last two so could make a return. Balotelli also returned for 45 minutes against Man Utd.

CC: The Middlesbrough match was quite something with 27 penalties I think to decide the tie, but did you feel Liverpool should have finished off the Championship side earlier that night considering how dominant they were in possession?

AO: The Middlesbrough game was a long night at Anfield. The reds showed promise early on - youngster Jordan Rossiter grabbing a debut goal in the 10th minute (before disappearing off the face of the earth from the first team). Our manager is a big believer in possession being an important factor in winning a game - but that game was typical of our inability to keep clean sheets. Boro showed tremendous fight but the game should never have gone to penalties - we just switched off in the final minute of extra time.

CC: You also had a late goal surge against Swansea to go through to the last eight so do you feel the League Cup has been one of the few areas where the team has been able to get a confidence boost this season?

AO: Swansea did have a man sent off just before Liverpool scored that final winning goal so that may have been a help. I don’t think many Liverpool fans think all our problems disappear in the League Cup. With 8 league cup titles it’s clearly been a special competition for the reds. Good fortune and weaker opposition/rested players on opposing sides facing us (at Anfield too) is probably the major factor for our wins so far.

CC: How good are Liverpool's back up strikers - Borini and Markovic?

AO: We haven’t seen a lot of Borini this season. He was Brendan Rodgers’ first signing at Liverpool but was being forced out of the club in August. He hasn’t even been involved on the bench in recent weeks as the club try to force him out in January. Markovic has shown flashes of pace and skill, but his sending off in the Champions League was a sign of his disciplinary problems. Again - he hasn’t been trusted much by Rodgers so far - although he did play away against Real Madrid - arguably Liverpool’s best performance in the 6 games of the group. Many Liverpool fans would like to see more of Markovic and I’d be surprised if he doesn’t start against Bournemouth.

CC: I was impressed by Emre Can when I saw him earlier this season in the Champions League, is he close to getting more starts?

AO: I was impressed too. He played against Real Madrid and Chelsea in the same week and performed well both times - scoring the opening goal against Chelsea. Since then however he too seems to have disappeared off the radar. He looks strong and he has already shown his eye for goal but in Liverpool’s league games he is behind the less creative Joe Allen in the pecking order. I’d like to see him start on Wednesday.

CC: Do you think the addition of so many Southampton players over the summer was a mistake?

AO: Huge mistake. Much was made of Lallana and Lambert’s link up play last season - but at Liverpool they’ve usually been played without the other. Lallana has been the most promising of the trio but has been in and out of the side more than most players. Lovren in defence has been an unmitigated disaster - it’s been some years since I’ve seen a defender at Liverpool making such simple positional mistakes. Lambert was being used for 10 minutes at the end of every games and then suddenly played 5 times in a fortnight. He has managed to score a couple however.

You pay a premium for buying players from within your own league and Southampton have taken our owners to the cleaners.

CC: What do you think of Eddie Howe as a manager?

AO: Certainly at Liverpool there is always a special connection with long serving players and staff going on to become manager. I also believe that a manager who has played in a defensive role has a lot more to offer as a manager - having spent most of their career seeing how play builds up in front of them.

As a young manager he has a pretty impressive record already and I’d imagine he would become an even hotter property if you secure your 2nd promotion in 3 years. The advantage to Bournemouth may be his young age, which may deter other sides attempting to lure him for another few years. It will be interesting to see if he can adapt quickly enough if you are promoted in May.

CC: Bournemouth played Liverpool in the FA Cup last season and lost 0-2, but can you see this match being tighter?

AO: I can see it being significantly tighter. The thought of us keeping a clean sheet and scoring two goals, at present, looks unlikely. Both at Anfield and away. Coupled this with the fact Bournemouth are a side averaging more than 2 goals a game and it’s fair to say not many Liverpool fans are looking forward to this one.

CC: Thank you John for your very intelligent answers. AFCB fans will be relishing some of your words, although AFCB fans know that Liverpool players have lots of pedigree and will be no easy opposition for whatever team Eddie Howe plays. I am hoping that some of Liverpool's big names feature but it is also perhaps a chance for players like Emre Can and Lazar Markovic that they have a real future at Liverpool. As for Brendan Rodgers I wonder how he will be feeling when he shakes Eddie Howe's hand on Wednesday night? They are great appreciators of each other's game, but Brendan probably has more riding on this game than Eddie Howe. If AFCB's players can play without fear or pressure though, I predict that we'll be in for one of the games of the season. Make sure you take a look at Anfield Online where you can get more of John's wise words about the current plight of Liverpool and their trip to Turkish club Besiktas in the Europa League.

Finally, it was brilliant news yesterday to hear it confirmed that AFCB had passed the Financial Fair Play regulations for the 2013-14 season, even though it will be difficult news for fans of Forest, Blackburn and Leeds to have received having failed the test.