Fulham 1, Liverpool 0 (D Post)

May 7 2007 by Ben Thornley, Liverpool Daily Post

THE domestic football which has punctuated Liverpool’s Champions League adventure this season has often been forgettable.

But Harry Kewell, the forgotten man of Anfield, will be hoping to leave a lasting impression on his manager in what little remains of the term.

For the Australian alone, the end of the club’s Premiership campaign might have come too soon, the winger making his first appearance in red since the 2006 FA Cup victory in this lacklustre defeat at Fulham.

Benitez’s team selection on Saturday may have given some indication of how highly this fixture ranked on his list of priorities – he left eight of the 11 who started against Chelsea in midweek on Merseyside.

But try telling the players whose Anfield futures – let alone their involvement in the Athens final – remain uncertain that this game was of no importance.

Or, for that matter, Fulham, for whom Clint Dempsey’s 69th-minute goal all but secured their Premiership survival with a first win in six games.

When Benitez first glanced at the fixture list last July, successive games against the Cottagers, who finished the game with 10 men after Papa Bouba Dioup’s dismissal, and Charlton probably seemed like a perfect way to close the campaign.

With both sides’ Premiership survival on the line, however, so too are their opponent’s limbs.

Lawrie Sanchez, once of the Crazy Gang, has clearly stamped his mark on this Fulham team during his short tenure, his brutal players leaving theirs on Benitez’s men.

The Anfield chief was left fuming by Fulham’s physical approach, which has threatened to derail his meticulous planning for the May 23 meeting with Carlo Ancelloti’s AC Milan.

Four of his players – Pepe Reina, Mark Gonzalez, Alvaro Arbeloa and Momo Sissoko – picked up knocks, while Xabi Alonso was left bloodied by Michael Brown’s head-butt, which the referee Steve Bennett failed to spot.

At least a lean-looking Kewell, making his first outing since the World Cup, came through his 16-minute cameo unscathed.

With a place in Benitez’s European Cup final starting XI at stake, the winger, a 77th-minute substitute on Saturday, has just one game remaining to force his way into the Spaniard’s thoughts, Sunday’s home clash with Charlton.

Six memorable minutes were enough to change Liverpool’s destiny against Milan two years ago but the mercurial forward will require more than 16 to influence his own.

It was long enough, however, to prove that even when short of match practice he remains a better option than the disappointing Mark Gonzalez on Liverpool’s problem left side, almost making an immediate impact with a looping cross which Robbie Fowler should have finished.

After limping from successive end-of-season showpieces, Kewell deserves an opportunity to prove himself on the biggest stage – particularly given the manner of his exit from the Ataturk pitch in 2005.

The boos of his own supporters which greeted his departure hurt this proud player deeply and he was rightly furious when people questioned his right to join the open-top procession that followed the club’s greatest night in continental competition.

The number seven may have his critics but even they could not deny that Liverpool were a stronger side for his presence last season, his creativity on the left flank bringing balance to Benitez’s midfield.

Kewell’s FA Cup semi-final performance at Old Trafford, in particular, stands out – Chelsea’s defence were unable to cope with his marauding runs that day.

His absence this season left a void which neither Bolo Zenden nor Mark Gonzalez, who was again ineffective here, have filled with any real conviction.

It is something that Benitez himself recognises, the former Valencia manager only two aware of his side’s shortcomings which he will hope to address with a summer transfer budget inflated by the dollars of Tom Hicks and George Gillett. Liverpool have plenty of grafters but desperately lack guile, something which Kewell’s inclusion would remedy.

Hopefully Benitez’s patient approach to the player’s recovery will now pay off.

Having twice risked the Australian when he was some way from being 100% in Cardiff and Istanbul, Benitez is unlikely to hesitate to call on the mercurial winger if he can prove his fitness in the coming weeks.

The manager will not have been swayed, though, by the performances of any other candidates for an Athens berth.

Craig Bellamy, who started alongside Fowler in attack, did little to suggest that he will survive the summer, although his pace might yet be utilised against AC Milan’s creaking back four.

The Wales front-runner could have had two in the opening eight minutes of the contest but was twice thwarted by Antti Niemi either side of a theatrical Tomasz Radzinski dive, which drew the derision of his own fans and the travelling support. They turned up in numbers even if Liverpool’s stars did not.

There was then a moment of concern when Reina collided with Brian McBride while tending to a cross from Radzinski, the hero of the penalty shoot-out victory over Chelsea left clutching his shoulder. The club are awaiting a scan to determine the extent of the injury.

The hosts almost broke the deadlock on 22 minutes, Vincenzo Montella’s goal-bound overhead kick striking the upright via a deflection off Alonso, before the Italian drifted a free-kick over the crossbar following Fowler’s reckless challenge on McBride.

Saturday’s opponents usually bring out the best in Fowler but the Toxteth-born marksmen did not enjoy the finest of afternoons.

He did, however, help craft an opening for Bellamy with a delightful scooped pass which the former Blackburn man drove across goal.

Bellamy should, perhaps, have done better with the chance. Fowler definitely should have with an opportunity created by Jermaine Pennant’s centre, the striker miscuing from point-blank range.

One player who did redeem himself on Saturday was Gabriel Palleta, who lined up alongside Sami Hyypia.

The centre-back took much of the blame for the previous weekend’s defeat to Portsmouth, his reputation already having suffered in the 6-3 Carling Cup mauling to Arsenal.

But this was a much more encouraging display from the Argentinean, who made a succession of brave blocks and headers, and was unlucky to have a late goal ruled out for offside.

He was joined in the back-line by fellow countryman Emiliano Insua, whose performance also offers much encouragement.

If the form of the two young stoppers has provided Benitez with greater defensive options, the Madrid-born manager is blessed in the position of centre midfield.

Such is the Spaniard’s strength in this department that he could afford to leave both Steven Gerrard and Javier Mascherano at home, and with wrecking balls like Brown and Diop swinging around the pitch, it was probably just as well.

The pair relentlessly chased and harried Alonso and Sissoko, who was off target with an effort from range after the interval, throughout the afternoon.

Both men were fortunate to still be on the field when the Londoners took the lead on 69 minutes, shortly after Bellamy had again been denied by Niemi.

Dempsey finished a move he began, exchanging passes with full-back Liam Rosenior on the edge of the box to open up Liverpool’s defence, slotting coolly past a prone Reina for his first of the campaign.

The goal was lucky to stand, McBride interfering with play from an offside position during the build up, but that was the least of Benitez’s complaints, as Brown continued to snap at Alonso’s heels.

Brown, a boyhood Liverpool supporter, was eventually booked on 76 minutes – about 54 minutes after he should have been removed – for a foul on the Spain international.

At least his clumsy midfield partner Diop was later given his marching orders after an umpteenth foul on Sissoko saw him enter Bennett’s book for a second time on 90 minutes.

Kewell was introduced on 77 minutes, and almost influenced the outcome with a telling ball from the left which Fowler entrusted his left boot to connect with when he should have favoured his right.

Sunday’s end-of-season meeting with Charlton promises to be a significant afternoon for both men. For Kewell a final chance to influence his manager’s selection, for Fowler a last opportunity to receive the acclaim of those who worship him on the Kop.