So, defeat for Liverpool in the FA Cup final but we certainly didn't disgrace ourselves and the most controversial moment of the match definitely went against us. For the first hour we were second best, Chelsea weren't by any means dominant or even particularly impressive but we didn't commit men forward and didn't provide a goal threat, combine that with some poor tackling (Enrique) and sloppy passing (Spearing) and finding ourselves 2-0 down wasn't particularly a surprise. Andy Carroll came on and the giant woke up the sleeping Reds and we began to deliver a performance. The way Chelsea played leaves us with the feeling that if we had put in a decent hour or so during the game it would probably have been enough to win the cup for us, but we didn't, and for that we can only look at our own performance.
Carroll was a battering ram when he came on, winning almost every ball and giving the Chelsea defenders something to think about, making their lives much more difficult than when they had only to deal with an isolated Suarez for the first sixty minutes. His goal was well taken, giving John Terry the run around before smashing the ball into the roof of the net. Then came the controversy. Carroll's header from Suarez' cross was palmed by Cech onto the underside of the bar and out into the six yard box. The Liverpool players ran off celebrating but the officials refused to say the ball had crossed the line and play continued. TV replays weren't particularly conclusive. ITV paused the footage with a small part of the ball hidden behind the crossbar, but it was clear the camera wasn't exactly in line with the goal (very poor positioning for such an expensive stadium!) and it was also clear that it was paused ever so slightly before Cech's hand touched the ball. So the ball still had a short distance to travel before it was propelled in the opposite direction, but this doesn't necessarily mean the whole of the ball was in. In short it's certain that at least 95% of the ball was over the line but the remaining 5% may or may not have gone in so it's hard to make a decision. I think with the speed the ball was travelling and the fact that Cech's body was between the linesman and the ball means that it would have been an impossible call for the official and no blame can be attached there for no goal being signalled. It's time to give them some help.
From the position which Carroll headed the ball he shouldn't have given Cech a chance to save the attempt in the first place. Andy Carroll wins a lot of headers in the box and how many times have we seen his efforts skim the top of the crossbar or brush the roof of the net as they go slightly over the bar. What he doesn't seem to do is head the ball downwards, the way you are taught to do from the first age you head the ball, if he had aimed downwards yesterday afternoon as long as it was on target the keeper would have had no chance whatsoever of pulling off a save and we'd have been level at 2-2 with momentum in our favour. Such are the margins in big games.
The performance in the last half hour gives us plenty of positives to take away form our third Wembley appearance of the season and if we can follow that up with two decent results in our last two games we can look to next season with an optimism that has been missing for the last few months.
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