Liverpool 2 Sunderland 0 Ngog Finds his Feet

Putting their recent poor form back to bed, Liverpool ground out a 2-0 victory at Anfield last night as, finally, a stubborn defence was broken down. There were no surprises with how Sunderland set their stall out, defending resolutely and in numbers.

It is a situation that the Liverpool have frequently found themselves in and until last night in 2009 they had struggled to deal with it. It could have been so different – with barely 3 minutes on the clock Kenwyne Jones shrugged off a rash challenge by Martin Skrtel to move clean through on goal only to see his weak shot saved by Jose Reina. After the match Sunderland boss Ricky Sbraiga admitted that this chance was possibly his side’s crucial opportunity to get something from the match.

With their reprieve granted, Liverpool set about pinning Sunderland back. David Ngog was making his first league start and the youngster looked determined to show he was worthy of it. His pace and movement upfront was the key difference between the lively and attacking Liverpool of last night and the lethargic Liverpool that had been seen in January and February. Chances fell to Dirk Kuyt and Ngog, as well as Albert Riera, who cut inside only to see his deflected shot saved at his near post by Sunderland goalkeeper Martin Fulop.

Javier Mascherano was filling in at right back in the absence of Alvaro Arbeloa and serial injury victim Philip Degen. He provided the energy and forays forward that Martin Skrtel so obviously lacked against Middlesbrough but still no goal could be found in the first half – Liverpool have only 7 first half goals in their last 15 league games. Belief was still high for the second half and the extra adventure in their play was rewarded when Albert Riera beat Tal Ben Haim on the left wing to put in a deep cross. Steven Gerrard made an excellent unmarked run to head the ball back across the 6 yard box to allow a delighted Ngog to mark his first league start with a tap in from 6 yards – but a tap in deserved nonetheless. A goal ahead you could almost see the pressure around the ground lift and the result was then never really in doubt. The excellent Yossi Benayoun rounded the night off reacting first to Sunderland keeper Fulop’s fumble in saving an overhead kick from Ngog. Benayoun pounced to side foot home from 5 yards to double the lead and provided a much need morale boosting win ahead of a daunting trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.