Away days look like getting better
Aug 15 2005
By Andy Proudfoot, Daily Post
WELL, that's one point of the 37 we must make up this season.
It's tempting to bemoan the loss of two points, but in truth this was a vastly-improved offering from most of the dross we watched away last year.
Last season our defeat here was all too predictable, but this time we controlled the match from start to finish, restricting the home side to few real chances and creating many of our own.
Or more accurately, Steven Gerrard created many of his own.
The security offered by the 4-5-1 formation enabled Gerrard to push on in the second half, and he almost won this match single-handed as a result.
If he really has cleared his mind now, then I suspect we're going to see him move on to a different plane - hang on to your seats and enjoy the ride.
Of the three debutants, Sissoko pushed Gerrard all the way for the man-of-the-match award, while Reina had precious little to do with Carragher and Hyypia easily mastering the Backside Brothers Hbuttelbaink and, latterly, Viduka.
Perhaps the only cause for concern was continuing unease over the aggression of our strikers.
Both Cisse and Baros held back when they could have attacked the ball from enticing crosses, and the shadow of Crouch - which can probably be seen from space - will continue to fall across Morientes if he cannot play the target man role any better than this.
But on the whole, there was strong evidence here to support Rafa Benitez's contention that we're better equipped now to deal with difficult away trips, which have too often included the likes of Southampton and Portsmouth in recent years, never mind Arsenal and Chelsea.
