Premier League, Saturday 3rd May 1997, Anfield, 18:15pm
Liverpool FC 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Referee: Mike Reed H-T: 1-1 Att: 40,003
Match Report
Liverpool kept their slim FA Carling Premiership title hopes alive with an unconvincing 2-1 victory over Tottenham at Anfield tonight to keep the pressure on leaders Manchester Utd.
Stan Collymore and Patrik Berger both struck in the first half to cancel out Darren Anderton's early opener and move Liverpool over Arsenal into second place.
But it was a performance which lacked championship quality and substitute goalkeeper Estan Baardsen a half-time replacement for Ian Walker made only four meaningful saves as Liverpool were frustrated in their efforts to cap their final home game of the season with a decent performance.
The Reds needing victory to keep pressure on the leaders began nervously as if the pre-match demonstration of support for the family of the Hillsborough victims had adversely affected them. Fans and players from both sides held up red cards prior to the start to urge the Home Secretary to open a new inquiry into the disaster in the light of recent fresh evidence. The show of support, organised by the Football Supporters Association, was given a huge ovation by the 40,003 crowd but the Liverpool end were quickly silenced by Tottenham's positive opening.
Anderton, plagued by injury since helping England to the Euro '96 semi-finals last summer showed he had lost none of his sharpness during the lay-off with a cleverly executed header to give the Londoners a fifth minute lead. David Howells fed Sol Campbell on the right and his cross was met by Anderton's looping header which sailed over David James into the bottom corner to rock Liverpool out of their early stride.
Teddy Sheringham, picking up where he left off from a bright display for England, against Georgia in midweek, also wasted a golden opportunity to double their lead when he blasted wide having found space on the right.
Swiss international Ramon Vega also went close as Liverpool, sticking to the 4-4-2 formation which served them so well in their Cup Winners Cup return against Paris St Germain, had difficulty picking up Spurs front-runners.
But Tottenham paid the price for those costly misses when Collymore linked up with strike-partner Berger to level terms. Neil Ruddock fed Berger on the edge of the box and his neat flick created space for Collymore to fire a low shot past Walker. That 15th minute equaliser galvanised Liverpool and Collymore missed a further chance before Berger earned Liverpool's advantage just two minutes before the interval. Howells' misdirected pass was intercepted by Stig Bjornebye and his intelligent ball sent Berger racing away before coolly slotting the ball wide of Walker's dive. But Liverpool's failure to keep pace with Alex Ferguson's leaders has often been because of their defensive frailties and Howells almost equalised in first-half injury-time with a free header.
The lapse in concentration clearly worried Liverpool manager Roy Evans who adopted a less positive approach after the break causing the Anfield crowd to become increasingly frustrated at their lack of attacking menace.
Collymore twice went close and tested Baardsen's reflexes twice with low shots while Ruel Fox, a half-time replacement for Howells, gave James an easy catch with an attempted lob from the edge of the box.
But those chances apart, Liverpool gave a disappointing second half display to sign off their Anfield season with, although it failed to prevent the crowd from giving them a standing ovation during their lap of honour after the final whistle.
| Team Line-Up's | |
| Liverpool | Tottenham Hotspur |
| James | Walker |
| Kvarme | Austin |
| McAteer | Howells |
| Wright | Calderwood |
| McManaman | Anderton |
| Collymore | Sheringham |
| Redknapp | Dozzell |
| Ruddock | Scales |
| Berger | Campbell |
| Thomas | Vega |
| Bjornebye | Sinton |
| Substitutes | Substitutes |
| Warner | Baardsen |
| Harkness | Fox |
| Barnes | McVeigh |
| Owen | Fenn |
| Carragher | Clapham |
| Substitutions | |
| Fox for Howells 45' | |
| Baardsen for Walker 45' | |
| McVeigh for Anderton 75' | |
| Goals | |
| Collymore 15' | Anderton 5' |
| Berger 43' | |
| Yellow Cards | |
| Ruddock | Anderton |
| Red Cards | |
| Referee | |
| Mike Reed | |
| Attendance | |
| 40,003 | |
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