Liverpool 5, Oldham 1: Winning Big, Eventually

By: Ed | January 6th, 2012

Liverpool 5: Bellamy 29′, Gerrard 45+1′, Shelvey 68′, Carroll 89′, Downing 90+5′
Oldham 1: Simpson 27′

It’s finally the scoreline we were waiting for, but a lackadaisical first half and an incident late in the second take some of the sheen off for Liverpool, who worked their way past Oldham on the strength of a terrific display by Craig Bellamy. The visitors started brightly and were the better side for much of the opening period, but a strong second half performance sees Liverpool rebound from the loss at City earlier in the week and progress to the fourth round.

Kenny Dalglish opted to go with the back line we all knew was coming, with Fabio Aurelio declared alive and Martin Kelly, Jamie Carragher, and Sebastian Coates making the starting eleven since the win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. It was slightly surprising to see Pepe Reina chosen ahead of Doni, who’s seemingly not going to see any action this season, as well as that Dalglish picked a midfield with both Steven Gerrard and Jonjo Shelvey. The latter pushed forward with the captain in the middle alongside Jay Spearing, and Dirk Kuyt, Craig Bellamy, and Maxi rounded out the squad up top.

It was an eleven stacked with attacking talent, but for much of the early going it was Oldham who provided the match’s action. Liverpool looked disjointed and couldn’t string anything together, and the visitors took advantage, getting forward confidently and piecing together a handful of dangerous possessions. Hopes that Liverpool would push on early were quickly swept away as they had to sink back to ward off Oldham pressure.

Most of the guests’ early chances came as a result of faulty Liverpool defending, with neither Carragher nor Coates provided much solidity across the back. Shefki Kugi created the best chance of the opening ten minutes, slaloming both central defenders and narrowly missing at Pepe Reina’s near post, and a free header for Tom Adeyemi followed shortly after, flying just wide of the top corner.

gerrardpenno Liverpool countered with a few half-chances but still struggled to make their mark on the match, and aside from a Dirk Kuyt header on Craig Bellamy’s darted free kick, the hosts were easily second-best. Oldham concretized that feeling with the opener in the 28th minute, with Robbie Simpson blasted a left-footed half-volley past Pepe Reina. It was a deserved reward for an Oldham side that, to that point, had taken the match to Liverpool.

It was a little harsh, then, that Liverpool equalized so quickly after Simpson’s stunner. Jonjo Shelvey shot from the edge of the area, and the deflection off Bellamy left Alex Cisak with no chance. The leveler spurred Liverpool on, as chances for Maxi and Shelvey followed in quick succession, with only the midfielder’s shoelaces to blame for not having the lead sooner.

That would come just before the half, though, as Adeyemi bundled through Maxi in the Oldham box after a dinked cross from Steven Gerrard. It’s no secret that Liverpool have struggled from the spot this season, with five chances and four misses adding to an already abysmal record of converting chances. None were taken or missed by Gerrard, though, and he blasted into the top corner past Cisak (off the bar, no less) to put Liverpool on top.

The match was Liverpool’s for most of the second half, with Craig Bellamy marauding down the right flank and providing service for anyone willing to get on the other end of it. Jonjo Shelvey finally stepped up in the 68th minute to give Liverpool some breathing room, getting his first goal for the club after he and Gerrard found their way forward awaiting another Bellamy cross.

Breaking up the rest of the Liverpool scoring was a strange incident with Tom Adeyemi—the midfielder set up for a throw-in on the far side, and he was apparently confronted by Liverpool fans in some way. He was clearly upset by the incident, which delayed the match for a few minutes as players from both sides tried to calm him. Speculation instantly flew to the worst-case scenario, but as of writing there’s still no confirmation as to what exactly happened.

Late goals for substitutes Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing put some gloss on the win, and it’s on to the fourth round for Liverpool.

*

As I mentioned, it’s mostly hand-wringing and breath-holding until there’s any sort of solid account of what happened with Liverpool supporters and Tom Adeyemi. Enough media’s gotten a hold of the story that there’s enough variations to make your head spin, many of which reflect poorly on the club after a month that’s seen more than its share of controversy. That makes it a bit difficult to fully enjoy the win, even if the consequences for any sort of abuse—racial or otherwise—from a supporter seem fairly clear-cut. Our stance has always been that there’s no place for racism in football or society, and any chance to punish proven offenders of such abuse should be taken, no questions asked.

bellamy So it’s with that in mind that we celebrate tonight’s masterclass put on by Craig Bellamy in attack, a full ninety minutes for one Steven Gerrard, and another comeback effort from a relatively piecemeal Liverpool squad. Jonjo Shelvey made his presence known, playing well enough to merit discussion about his place in the eleven on a more consitent basis. Andy Carroll only featured for seven minutes but managed to thump home a left-footed effort from distance, and Stewart Downing *finally* got himself on the scoresheet with a fine volley. Fabio Aurelio, as rusty as he looked, does in fact have a pulse.

The effort in the first half was worrying, however, and I can’t imagine that having so many different moving parts helped. Aurelio hasn’t featured with anyone nearly all year, and Carragher and Coates clearly suffered from the lack of match action. And for as much attacking impetus as the front six provided, there was little to shout about in the passing game and even less in front of goal. Having a match taken to them by lower-league opposition at home, while unfortunately not an entirely foreign concept, is never an encouraging sight, and much of the first half simply wasn’t good enough.

But in the end they righted the wrongs on the day and got the win they needed, and they’ll have something to build off of heading into next week’s semi-final at Manchester City.

Some Related Liverpool Posts:

Category: FA Cup, Match Recaps, Miscellaneous, Team News

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boogerso

you know the only reason we scored five goals was because of the addition of a man so long neglected from the starting lineup. you know, the man who was born and bred liverpool? the one who was a fixture in the starting lineup, until age seemed to have caught up with him? the inspiring presence we all long to see? thats right folks.................
Jamie Carragher is back! More goals to follow!
NotTooXabi

There was a great deal of promise with Jonjo/Gerrard last night. I kept slotting in Lucas for Spearing, Suarez for Kuyt, and thinking, "Yeah, this might work." Return the Fab 4 to the back, and that gap in the midfield would disappear faster than chocolate cake at the Lampard house.

In some alternate universe, preferably where Ray Wilkins is mute, we'd get a chance to see Lucas/Hendo/Jonjo/Gerrard set-up in action. Just for shits, giggles, and more torque than a 454 big-block 1972 Chevelle. With Glenny Kravitz and Unrealque getting up the wings, and Suarez/Bellamy doing their mayhem thing, that's a team with some serious oomph.

I have a dream.
Suarez from the car park...

oooh, chocolate cake, mmmmmmmm (doh!)
Marque Pierre Sondergaard

Gerrard's penalty hitting the woodwork? What are we, cursed? But no curse (except for health and old age) is strong enough for Captain Fantastic!

Downing's goal... In the split seconds from when he hits the ball till it goes in, I involuntarily thought, "Look at that flying sky high. He so badly want to hit those high balls, and he even hit it with his inner side. Typical Downing!"

Glad to be proven wrong though.
Suarez from the car park...

All Gerrard is missing is the cape.
Mike

I'm just glad that Jose Enrique has finally found his Aurelio mask.
ejbauer11

Missed the second half for work. Pleasant surprise. JONJO! I don't want to think about the abuse of the oldham player so I'm not going to for now.
Ryan

Eh, the back line was crap. But none of those players have been regulars lately, so not worried. I think the game just needed a better creator, and less attackers. Maybe Henderson instead of Kuyt could make a difference. But glad Oldham knew what was coming and decided it was best to just bend over.
Waiting for Sterling

Hendo would be another attacker. I think we just lacked motivation to go forward. For some reason the team doesn't really care until they're behind. I think we need more spark players like Luis. Gerrard's back, but he just seemed like he couldn't motivate the team on his own.
KC

Nothing is going to take the sheen off this win. Its 5 goals. Seriously. I don't care if its against a lower tabled team we NEVER score 5 goals (at least not this season) and debut goals for Shelvey and Downing? We should be popping out the champagne. I wish Bellamy had stronger knees cause he was amazing once he switched to the right. Cross after cross after pinpoint cross. And Gerrard got the penalty. That is why he's the Liverpool captain. What's funny though is that I was never scared we would lose even when we went a goal down, I was more worried we wouldn't win. And we did.

In regards to the fans who yelled abuse, they're dumbasses especially in this Liverpool climate. Abuse of any sort is not on. In regards to the twitter crowd who are now abusing Liverpool and calling us scouser scum, they aren't that much better. I read this one guy tweeting about Kenny being King KKK. Nothing is confirmed and people should stop jumping on the Liverpool is a supporter of racial abuse bandwagon cause its getting old.
Marque Pierre Sondergaard

2 goals for Shelvey really. Not to take anything off Bellamy's superb efforts.
McrRed

Great win. Yes. Great..remember Northampton but a year ago? So, to put 5 in the onion bag makes it great.

I was disappointed in Shelvey. There I said it. Too many underhit passes all the game. I was screaming for him to be subbed...then he scored. I guess that's why Kenny's the manager, eh?
KC

Any any person who is jumping on our back because fans abused Adeyemi, I love how they've forgotten about how Fulham fans abused Suarez and Everton (?) fans threw coins at Bellamy. People love jumping into bandwagons straight away. So they can say, WELL IT WASN'T RACIAL ABUSE WAS IT. I would reply, WELL IS ANYTHING CONFIRMED YET? And don't even go there about us being supporters of racism because none of us are even protecting those stupid fans that abused the player. One man's action does not define everyone else's.
Petelatics

As an Oldham supporter who was some distance away from the Adeyemi incident it is of course impossible for me to comment on what went on. However, I think anyone who was there would recognise that something caused him to react - I actually thought that another player had spat at him or hit him, such was his reaction. I must admit that Anfield is the last place I would expect racial chanting. Hopefully the 'one bad apple' will be arrested and charged. Best of luck this season.
Suarez from the car park...

Real shame about this dumbass if it turns out to be true, like you say, the reaction says something.
Despite the eventual score you must be pretty chuffed with Oldham's performance, certainly in the 1st half. Lfc's performance had headless chicken written all over it for quite a while.
purify_the_body

PR executives don't get paid big money because the public is logical or level-headed. This is going to take a long, long time to die down.
KC

I'm hoping that the media's love for more new sensational stories means that people will start jumping on other bandwagons soon.
Waiting for Sterling

Bellamy is class, Jonjo is coming along great and maybe a confidence boost for Big Andy and Stuey D. Two things I noticed though: Coates was shaky and Dirky looks like unless he gets regular minutes he'll never be the beast he used to be.

All in all, it was a much needed stomping and I think a change is uh-comin'.
Momo

A win is a win.Before Oldam scored the opener I was suspecting the team to run for a goalless draw in order to have a replay game,it would've been a tricky situation had it been really the case.A another game included in the ban would've only 03 games to be missed in the EPL.Humm

As for the incident, don't feed the troll please...just wait and see
Momomca

A win is a win.Before Oldam scored the opener I was
suspecting the team to run for a goalless draw in order to have a replay
game,it would've been a tricky situation had it been really the case.A
another game included in the ban would've meant only 03 games to be missed by Suarez in
the EPL.HummAs for the incident, don't feed the troll please...just wait and seeSh*t, is there anyone who can show me how to edit texts?
Ed

Uhhh, what?

And not sure that anyone's feeding the trolls--it was a notable incident and all everyone's talking about since it occurred, so it'd have been irresponsible to not at least make mention of it.
Matthew Camp

You heard the man, Ed.
steven.

is the dog in that picture wearing a shirt and tie?
Ryan

No, That's Matthew Camp.
Ed

Now I'm confused.
Red2death

Would be great if that 'fan' turned out to be a Manc wearing a stolen Liverpool jersey. That would be more consistent with our favored perception of the supporters' relative intellects. But alas, it probably is a dumb-ass scouser, we have those too.

Then again, some pipe dreams do come true, like having Carroll up top actually replaced by our other forwards Kuyt and Bellamy, with Maxi in the starting eleven to boot. Up until kick off that was merely wishful thinking.
Suarez from the car park...

I've no doubt Carroll will return for the Citeh game. Just rotation going on.
archduke_franz

the garbage with the (looks likely to be racist) abuse of the oldham player really helps drag the clubs reputation through the gutter. lifetime bans are the least the club could do to tie a tourniquet on this.

on a much lighter note: motherfucking JONJO SHELVEY. been a fan since he was at charlton, hes going to be a beast. ynwa
airamanna

If any LFC fan was ignorant enough to spout racist abuse at Adeyemi, a lifetime ban isn't even enough. The "fan" needs to be taken to the center circle at Anfield and ritually beaten. And then Suarez should bite him. Finally, we'll offer him up as a sacrifice to the fitness gods to hasten Lucas's recovery.
mardia

I LIKE YOUR PLAN. Particularly the bit about a sacrifice to the fitness gods, Lord knows we need all the luck we can get.
mardia

I LIKE YOUR PLAN. Particularly the bit about a sacrifice to the fitness gods, Lord knows we need all the luck we can get.
airamanna

At this point I'll do anything to avoid having to listen to a bunch of middle class white English dudes talk amongst themselves about racism. And if a little ritual sacrifice gets them to shut up while *also* bringing Lucas back, we'd be fools not to try it.

As an aside, is it sexist that I assumed the fan is male? I just can't bring myself to use those gender-neutral pronouns like xie and hir that are so popular with the kids these days.
NotTooXabi

Race? Class? Gender? Ritual sacrifice? AND indignant dismissal of the millennial generation?

This is one veiled Douglas Adam's quote away from being a perfect piece of commentary. I wholeheartedly approve.
mardia

Oh God, tell me about it. Iain Macintosh was talking about Glen letting Suarez call him metros in training, and I generally like Iain well enough, but there is something instinctively cringe-worthy about a white guy questioning how a black player approaches race. Like, no. And don't even get me started on Ollie Holt from the Mirror reportedly saying that John Terry saying "black c--t" isn't racist. How in the fuck does THAT work?

Generally, I have found the media to live down to every low opinion I have had of them over this whole sorry affair. So if throwing everyone in the stocks while I get some rotten fruit to throw at their heads brings us Lucas more quickly, then hell, I am all for it!
etipok

what jt said was racist but that does not necessarily mean he is a racist. im of ethic origin and have met him several times and found him to be a pretty sound guy. i believe in a moment of stress or anger people lash out and say things they do not mean or believe. far more insidious are the people who say nothing but are secretly prejudiced and work towards making opportunities more difficult to come by for certain people because of the colour of that group's skin. the suits in soho square need to take a closer at themselves. Why are there so few black managers? why are there so few asian footballers? why are the so few ethnic decision makers and 'gate-keepers'? the suarez and jt rows are very convenient for the fa as they allow the fa to portray themselves as crusaders in the fight against racism whilst all along keeping their glass ceiling in place which is far more detrimental to a person of colour than being called a 'black c*nt'
mardia

I agree, Terry probably isn't an out and out racist. I say probably because it's impossible to ever fully know what's in another person's heart, but is he walking around in his free time wearing a hood on his head? No. But if what's alleged is true, he said something that's absolutely racist, and it is ridiculous of Holt to try and pretend otherwise, especially since Terry doesn't have the excuse of cultural misunderstanding to hide behind.

But yes, I agree, the FA has bigger issues with race they've swept under the rug.
Suarez from the car park...

I love the theory that these guys might turn out to be manc fans.

While I'm sure every club has an idiot hiding in the stands, it would be very up the Manc's street.

fergie applauded the manc fans for showing that banner at Anfield i.e. encouraging dumb acts.

Well, the charge against Terry will be judged against far higher standards than the FA used.

Act plus intent will have to be proven. According to JnHayden's post I put up here before (the very very long one), the fines are relatively trivial unless it's considered serious, in which case there could be imprisonment!

But those higher standards also give JT a potential get out as it could be harder to prove.

Unlike the FA who let Evra see the video clips 3 times, get his story straight and then proclaim him reliable and consistent.
mardia

Okay, this isn't directed at you so much, jonny, but I've got to say, I'm really tired of seeing LFC fans trying to deflect blame onto Man United or Ferguson. And I'm really tired of seeing conspiracy theories. Every fanbase has idiotic fans, there's no reason as of yet to believe that's not what's happened here. Ferguson smiling over Man United fans pulling a harmless prank--and it WAS a harmless prank, no worse than our players holding up the "five times" banner--is not the same thing as a fan, any fan, calling an opposition player a racist slur. LFC's current problems with the media are almost entirely the fault of LFC releasing two idiotic statements, combined with the even more idiotic stunt with the shirts. Ferguson didn't have anything to do with that. That was the club shooting itself in the foot. There is no reason to blame this on some "Manc conspiracy".

As for John Terry, you know what, until things are actually settled, let's take a timeout on assuming he's going to get away scotfree with whatever he's accused of doing. The prosecution system feels they have enough evidence to not only go to trial, but get a conviction. Terry, pardon my French, is in deep shit. And regardless of whatever happens in the criminal court, Terry is still going to have to face the FA afterward. Let's cool it on the conspiracy theories until we see what actually happens, okay?

(goes back to staring at pictures of kittens with fingers firmly in ears)
airamanna

But Ollie said he asked some black players and they weren't offended so it's totally not racist! Because it's not like POC are individuals with their own opinions or anything. There's like a minority hivemind that transmits opinions which are shared equally by all non-white people.

I wonder if he asked any women how they feel about "cunt".
ShedYourYellow

Don't stop at a Suarez, bring in Mike Tyson.
Blackfaps

or a LEbron James!