Monday 28 January 2013

Oldham Athletic v Liverpool: live - Telegraph.co.uk

17.59 What he said:

17.57 Well done, Oldham fans, for complying with strict legislation that demands lower league fans invade the pitch after a Cup upset.

90+6 min We're into the last minute of this match. Blue scarves being twirled and fingers being used to make irritating whistle noises. Probert blows for full-time! Oldham win!

90+5 min Sturridge meets a diagonal ball into the box from Downing but he can't control it properly and it cannons off his ankle and into the arms of Bouzanis.

90+4 min Downing tries to make something of a long ball into the right-hand corner but succeeds only in conceding a goal-kick.

90+2 min Andy Townsend crowns Matt Smith as the Budweiser man of the match.

90 min Chance! Ridiculously good long-range strike from Gerrard smacks against the crossbar! My word that was good. But Liverpool thwarted! We'll have six minutes of added time for an equaliser to be found.

89 min Wabara crosses to Taylor at the far post and the substitute meets the ball but only succeeds in volleying it out for a goal-kick.

88 min Cracking pass from Shelvey to Robinson making a run into the left side of the box but the young full-back goes for glory and shoots off-target when a pass to Suarez was the far wiser option.

87 min Goalmouth scramble follows and Allen's deflected shot leads to corner No 2.

86 min Chance! Gerrard, lurking on the edge of the area, meets the ball and sees his shot blocked out for a corner.

85 min Gerrard, of all people, gives the ball away to Baxter and he drives towards the Liverpool goal. Stevie G makes up for it with a robust challenge that hands Liverpool back the ball.

84 min Liverpool have a corner as David Mellor (no, not that one) replaces Smith.

83 min Smith receives a polite round of applause as he's stretchered off the field.

81 min Another blow for Oldham as goal hero Smith is down clutching his shoulder. Looks like game over for the big man.

Goal80 min GOAL! OLDHAM 3 - LIVERPOOL 2 (Allen) The corner is half-cleared to Allen on the edge of the box and his volley takes a wicked deflection off Baxter and flies past Bouzanis for a goal. That's Allen's first for Liverpool.

79 min Suarez pressures Bouzanis into a sloppy clearance kick. Downing picks up the ball and slaloms his way into the area. He gets the ball onto his trusty left foot and forces Bouzanis to parry. The ball is hacked away for a corner.

77 min Shelvey's long-range sighter goes well over the bar. The only likely outcome. Oldham go upfield and Smith flicks the ball onto Simpson, who rushes his shot and flicks it wide. He had more time and that possibly should have been four. As a punishment he's substituted for Daniel Taylor.

76 min Wabara hoofs a long ball out for a throw but Liverpool remain camped in the Oldham third looking for a way back into this tie.

74 min If this is what being a hard man entails then I'll stick with being a softie:

72 min Two things to update you on. Jonjo Shelvey is on for Sterling and Smith has been booked for a foul on Coates.

71 min I think that was Jonjo Shelvey i saw removing layers on the Liverpool bench. And Baxter's close to a fourth! He drags his long-range effort just wide of the target. Decent strike.

69 min Liverpool win another corner but Grounds gets it clear at the second attempt. The Premier League side running out of time to change this result.

68 min Suarez gets away from Wesolowski in the box but he's left with too tight an angle and sees his close-range stab blocked out for a corner by Bouzanis.

67 min Sturridge goes down for a pen, but it's not given and play goes on... Suarez picks up the ball at the byline and cuts it back to Gerrard...He must score! But no! Baxter hurls himself in the way and blocks the shot.

65 min Och, the rain is reeeaallly tipping down now and, believe it or not, it's made Brad Jones even worse. He screws his clearance out for a throw following a routine backpass.

64 min A tweet for Mrs Dickov to print out and stick up on the fridge:

63 min Liverpool win a corner and Downing puts in a very dangerous ball into the mixer. Suarez eases in to Bouzanis, and the keeper misses the ball, but no red shirts can capitalise and Oldham survive.

61 min Weather turned a bit rotten now. Will this bother the Premier League glamour boys? We all know that lower-league footballers are impervious to inclement weather or substandard facilities.

59 min Henderson and Sturridge link up down the right and the England forward passes inside to Suarez. He controls the ball expertly before laying it off to Gerrard, who shimmies away from a would-be tackler before seeing his goal-bound effort deflected away.

58 min Liverpool pushing for a second but no joy yet. Talking of joy, here's a GIF of that hillarious free-kick from Baxter in the 47th minute:

57 min Gerrard lumps the ball forward to Suarez and he forces a corner after his cross was diverted out of play.

55 min Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers makes his first two changes of the match. Stewart Downing on for Borini and Steven Gerrard replaces Wisdom.

54 min Free-kick to Oldham is taken by Baxter. He finds Mvoto at the far post but his header is way off-target. Liverpool go up the other end and claim a penalty for a foul on Sterling. Probert not interested.

52 min Chance! Baxter has an opportunity to kill off the match but he can't quite beat Jones with a chip. He was away on the right of the box and might have had more joy by putting his head down and smacking it. The delicate chip didn't test Jones too much in the end.

51 min Sarky cheers from the Oldham fans as Sterling overhits his cross and watches it go out for a goal-kick.

50 min Liverpool have told Stewart Downing to warm up as they look to overhaul a two-goal deficit. Interested to see how that one works out for them.

Goal48 min GOAL! OLDHAM 3 - LIVERPOOL 1 (Wabara) Absolutely cracking ball in from the left by Winchester to Wabara. He climbs highest at the back post and loops an inch-perfect header into the corner past Jones. Everything about that goal was good. Real good.

47 min Free-kick to Oldham for a foul on Simpson from Robinson. Baxter slips as he takes it and the ball dinks harmlessly out for a goal-kick. Oh dear!

46 min We're back under way with the action. And Borini wastes an early chance, spooning a side-footed effort well over the bar.

16.59 Right on cue, it's a useful statistic from our friends at Opta:

45+4 min Ref Lee Probert blows for half-time with the League One side leading!

Goal45+3 min GOAL! OLDHAM 2 - LIVERPOOL 1 (Smith) Wabara's ordinary cutback is spilled by Jones and the ball is squared to Smith who knocks it into the unguarded net for his second. Medicore goalkeeping from Jones but a clinical finish from Smith!

45+2 min Liverpool corner is cleareds away by Mvoto and the ball makes its way back to Jones who gets a heavy torrent of boos, presumably for his role in the Simpson incident earlier.

45+1 min Corner comes to nothing and we enter the first of three added minutes.

45 min Free-kick to Oldham around the middle of the park. Baxter sends it directly to Smith and he climbs above Coates, forcing Jones into tipping a header over the bar for a corner.

43 min Corner half-cleared and the ball is played back in to Mvoto, who directs his header straight at Jones for a straightforward save.

42 min Simpson played in. He drives towards goal but is ushered out wide by Coates. That doesn't prevent him getting to the byline and Simpson's cross is blocked out for a corner.

40 min As we near the break it looks like Liverpool are the side more in control of this affair but little flashes from Oldham suggesting an upset.

38 min An action shot of Smith's opener:

36 min Chance! Simpson played in on the edge of the box but opts for an early shot when running at Skrtel was the order of the day. The shot is a weak one in the end and never testing Jones.

34 min A mail from Damian on that Simpson incident earlier:

E-mailNick, how can two Liverpool players grabbing a player by the neck and shaking him not result in a yellow card? So much for professionals.

33 min Chance! Baxter receives a pass from Wesolowski, shits the ball onto his right foot, and has a dip on goal that flashes just wide of Jones's right post.

32 min Suarez beats his man with a sidestep and winds up for a strike on goal but loses his footing at the crucial moment and sees the shot blocked.

29 min Delicious attack from Liverpool sees Sturridge backheel the ball to put Sterling through on goal but the young winger fails to add a finish that a move of that quality deserved. Bouzanis saves and the chance goes begging.

28 min Wabara with a throw to Croft in the corner. The ex-Manchester City man controls it but his pass is intercepted by Suarez and Liverpool play their way out of trouble.

26 min Wisdom's cross hits a defender and then Wisdom again to trickle out for a goal-kick. Liverpool have woken from their slumber and look like the superior outfit now.

25 min Chance! Suarez! He smashes the ball on the half-volley but it's never hitting the target and fizzes well wide for a goal-kick.

24 min DISALLOWED GOAL! Suarez glances Henderon's header into the back of the net but is - correctly - adjudged to be offside and the goal will not stand.

23 min Sturridge blatantly fouled by Wabara on the edge of the box. Oldham aren't leaving anything out there and Wabara gets a yellow card for his troubles!

22 min Fight! Sturridge is fuming after what he claims was an elbow in the face from Byrne.

20 min Another foul from Sterling means he has used up all his excuses. Another dodgy challenge and it's early-shower-and-collect-your-mobile-from-the-valuables-bag time.

19 min Massive handball shouts from Oldham but closer inspection shows Coates controlled the ball with his chest. Ref Lee Probert right not to blow up.

Goal17 min GOAL! OLDHAM 1 - LIVERPOOL 1 (Suarez) Brilliant finish from Suarez levels things up at Boundary Park. A ball ricochets off an Oldham defender straight to Suarez and he advances towards goal before slotting the ball past Bouzanis.

16 min Hard to argue with this tweet from US football type Grant Wahl:

15 min Suarez robbed of the ball by Baxter and Simpson is released down the left wing. the ball makes its way to Wabara on the right and the move breaks down shortly after.

13 min Chance! No doubting Baxter's shot this time. He lets fly from just outside the box and it's hit true but too much fade sees the shot go comfortably wide in the end.

12 min Jack Robinson pinged for a foul, handing Oldham a decent free-kick about 30 yards out. Plenty of blue shirts in the box. Croft takes it short to Baxter for a shot but the only thing kicked is fresh air. Put that set-piece in the When Training Ground Moves Go Wrong file.

11 min This match is spicy. Madras-extra-hot spicy.

10 min Oldham forced into an early chance. Carl Winchester on for M'Changama.

8 min Chance! Fight! Croft shoots at Jones and the keeper spills it. Simpson goes for the rebound but ends up kicking a lump out of Jones. The two men start brawling, with help from Skrtel, who objected to the challenge. Simpson gets a yellow card.

6 min Radio DJ Danny Baker laments the absence of proper Premier League footballers like Barry Hayles and Matt Elliott:

5 min Corner to Liverpool is cleared away by Oldham. M'Changama bursts up the pitch but his progress is halted by a cynical challenge from Sterling. That's a yellow card for Sterling.

Goal2 min GOAL! OLDHAM 1 - LIVERPOOL 0 (Smith) What a start! Smith with a classic centre-forward's goal as he heads home a cross from the left for the opener. Looks like Skrtel got the final touch but it was on target.

1 min We're under way! Oldham boss Paul Dickov's hair looks great.

16.00 Both sides out on the field and ready to go. It's red versus blue: the oldest rivalry in football.

15.57 The teams are in the tunnel ahead of kick-off:

15.50 So this Liverpool side features only five of the players who started last week's 5-0 win over Norwich. Is it strong enough to see off Oldham?

15.30 This amusing note from the Oldham press office has got media types laughing on Twitter. Hopefully it will resonate with you lot too:

15.25 Good afternoon and thanks for joining me for live coverage of this FA Cup fourth round tie from Boundary Park. The last time these two sides played here was 19 years ago in the Premier League. Liverpool won 3-0 thanks to goals from Julian Dicks, Robbie Fowler and Jamie Redknapp. Retro, or what? But let's concentrate on there here and now by taking a look at the two teams:

TEAM NEWS

Oldham: Bouzanis, Wabara, Mvoto, Byrne, Grounds, Croft, Wesolowski, M'Changama, Simpson, Baxter, Smith.
Subs: Cisak, Brown, Tarkowski, Taylor, Winchester, Sutherland, Mellor.

Liverpool: Jones, Wisdom, Skrtel, Coates, Robinson, Henderson, Allen, Sterling, Suarez, Borini, Sturridge.
Subs: Gulacsi, Gerrard, Downing, Lucas, Carragher, Fernandez Saez, Shelvey.

Referee: Lee Probert (Wiltshire)

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