Reina’s spill denies Roy’s Reds

AN OWN goal on the pitch, inthe very last minute, denied Liverpool at the end of a week when own goals off the field have been the primary focus; but the passion and fervour shown by Roy Hodgson’s side proves the spirit of Anfield remains undimmed.

Maybe season 2010-11 could be a special one after all.

You have to feel for goalkeeper Pepe Reina, who palmed the ball into his own net in the 90th minute after a Marouane Chamakh header came back off the upright, ending a brave performance by the home side who had spent the entire second half with only 10 men but thought they may have sneaked victory though David Ngog.

But the sheer drama of the afternoon, including a pulsating finale in which Steven Gerrard almost snatched victory in injury time and Arsenal had defender Laurent Koscielny sent off for two bookable offences, should give encouragement rather than pain to the Kop faithful.

When Joe Cole, making his Premier League debut for the Reds following a summer move from Chelsea, was sent off for a lunging tackle on Kocsielny on the stroke of half-time they must have wondered what the season had in store given the trauma behind the scenes on Merseyside these days. But instead Gerrard, Mascherano & Co reminded us what the Liverpool spirit is all about and laid a foundation for the season.

Of course Hodgson’s arrival and the capture of Cole had already re-invigorated the club’s fervent fans long before kick-off – and supporters tend to allow football politics to go in one ear and out the other until it is almost too late. But news this week that progress on finding a new owner has stalled had even the most optimistic Kopite unnerved.

Neither Kenny Huang, who heads a China-based investment group, or Syrian Yahya Kirdi have been able to provide proof of funds, it seems, and neither party were at Anfield to see Hodgson’s side open the new season against a fluent Arsenal side. Managing director Christian Purslow, in a pre-match interview on BBC’s Radio Five Live, insisted the club will not be rushed into agreeing a sale. But considering current owners Tom Hicks and George Gillet are due to repay £237m (€290m) of loans to the Royal Bank of Scotland by October 6, a deadline that cannot be met without either an urgent sale or re-financing, Liverpool are hardly in a strong position when it comes to negotiations.

Not that Hodgson was worried about off-the-field problems as he came to terms with Reina’s late mistake.

“I’ve been here five weeks and certainly I’ve never had any reason to question spirit, desire or people’s interest in the club,” he insisted. “The one thing I learned today is that the spirit is undimmed. The fans can expect the players to run around and chase and fight like they have always done and if we can add a bit of tactical organisation and ally that to the obvious skill that’s in the team then, who knows, maybe we can have a decent season.”

Hodgson knows Liverpool will need to improve technically if they are to be serious challengers because his players gave the ball away with alarming regularity in the first half and allowed Arsenal to dominate possession for long periods. But there was certainly nothing wrong with their attitude after Cole’s dismissal for a lunging challenge that may not have been ill-meant but was certainly foolish.

The decision, however, seemed to galvanise Hodgson’s side, and within two minutes of the second half the 10 men were ahead, Ngog turning in the box and firing a stunning, rising shot into the roof of Arsenal’s net.

To their credit Arsenal, who in contrast to Liverpool enjoy unblemished security off the field under a manager who has just extended his contract, refused to give up despite stoic defence from Liverpool.

Substitute Theo Walcott struck a free-kick that was spectacularly saved and then Reina made an even more dramatic stop to keep out Thomas Rosicky’s 86th minute shot, before his last-gasp disaster. Even then Manuel Almunia had to make a flying save to deny Steven Gerrard at the other end and the sides ended up 10-men each when Koscielny received a second yellow for handball in the dying seconds as the atmosphere inside Anfield boiled to a crescendo.

Wenger, however, remained calm. “We kept going and we showed we won’t give up so overall it’s a good result,” he said. “We kept throwing more people forward and got what I believe was a deserved equaliser.”

Arsenal didn’t quite look in top form, they created few clear-cut chances despite enjoying so much of the ball, but you could understand Wenger’s enthusiasm for the future after extending his time at the club he joined way back in 1996 – despite interest from other clubs.

“I get offers,” he revealed. “But people know in my job that I always go to the end of my contract so I wasn’t ready to talk. It’s important not to talk about other opportunities I have, it’s important to focus on my job and the best way to focus is to extend the contract a little bit.

“The day I feel I cannot take the team further I will go. But I feel this team can do things. We finished third last year and our ambition is to progress and improve. I signed a new contract because I love the club and don’t see myself going anywhere else.”

It would be nice to see Hodgson saying similar things in five years time but, as he found last night, some things a manager just cannot control.

Referee: Martin Atkinson 6 – It was a controversial decision to send off Joe Cole on his Anfield debut but given the evidence you cannot blame the referee for applying the letter of the law.

Match rating: *** – Not the best match in terms of quality of football but for drama and passion it did the trick – with a heart-pounding finale.