Newcastle 1-3 Liverpool
Match Report
Peter Crouch featured prominently in Liverpool’s win over 10-man Newcastle.
Crouch played a part in Liverpool’s two first-half goals, scoring with a downward header and then setting up Steven Gerrard, who drilled home.
Newcastle pulled a goal back just before the break through Shola Ameobi’s header, but Jean-Alain Boumsong’s 51st minute red-card ended their fightback.
Boumsong was sent off after gaving away a penalty for a foul on Crouch, with Djibril Cisse converting the spotkick.
The French international defender has suffered an inconsistent season and he looked distraught as trudged round the pitch to the tunnel after his dismissal.
Referee Mike Riley brandished the red card when Boumsong wrestled Crouch to the ground after the Frenchman miskicked horribly.
Crouch had been deployed as a lone striker, with Harry Kewell and Cisse playing either side of the England international.
The system gave Liverpool plenty of attacking fluency and it did not take long for them to get into their goalscoring stride.
Gerrard fed the ball into the path of Jan Kromkamp and the Dutchman cleverly chipped the ball towards Crouch.
The Liverpool forward muscled his way between Peter Ramage and Boumsong before heading downwards past Shay Given.
Newcastle had struggled to get into the game before Crouch’s goal and it took them a further 10 minutes to seriously threaten the Liverpool goal.
Shearer and Charles N’Zogbia tried their luck with a speculative shots, with the Frenchman’s effort momentarily spilled by Jose Reina.
That was to prove N’Zogbia’s last contribution in the game as he soon limped off with an injury to be replaced by Lee Bowyer.
Just past the half-hour Liverpool went two goals ahead following a devastating counter-attack.
Cisse sent over a cross to Gerrard, who after playing a neat one-two with Crouch, fired the ball into the corner with a diagonal shot.
Ameobi revived Newcastle hopes as he escaped the shackles of Sami Hyypia to flight a header past Reina following Scott Parker’s cross two minutes before the interval.
Having edged their way back into the game Newcastle‘s hopes of salvaging of a point were all but extinguished by Boumsong’s dismissal and Cisse’s successfully taken penalty early in the second half.
Cisse was yellow-carded for his over exuberant goal celebration and soon afterwards Riley spoke to the Frenchman again when he goaded the Newcastle fans for a second time.
Having failed to endear himself to the St James’ Park crowd, Cisse then proceeded to upset Kewell by selfishly shooting rather passing to the Australian.
Late on Given made two spectacular saves, diving to tip away goal-bound shots from Xabi Alonso and Kromkamp.
The win means Liverpool are two points behind Manchester United, who have played a game less than Rafael Benitez’s side.
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