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LFC MATCH REPORT
Saturday 23rd December 2006
at Anfield
FA Premiership
LIVERPOOL 2-0 WATFORD

MATCH STATS

GOALS: Bellamy, Alonso

LIVERPOOL TEAM: (4-4-2) - tba

 

Reina

 
Finnan

Carragher

Agger

Riise

Pennant
Gerrard
Alonso
Garcia
       
 

Bellamy

Kuyt 66

 
Unused Subs: Dudek, Hyypia
][ = Yellow Card
Name = goalscorer and time(s)
Substitutions:
tba

OPPOSITION

tba

Att: tba
Ref: tba

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THE GAME IN PICTURES

MATCH REPORT

Craig Bellamy's fourth league goal in as many games helped Liverpool to a fifth successive Premiership win.

Ben Foster made a series of saves to deny Liverpool in the first-half, though Watford had the best chance when Al Bangura volleyed over the bar.

But early in the second half Bellamy sidefooted the ball home after good work by Dirk Kuyt and Steven Gerrard.

Late on subsitute Peter Crouch crashed a shot against the post, before Xabi Alonso's curling shot sealed the win.

Liverpool might have scored more than two goals had it not been for Foster's heroics in the Watford goal.

On loan from Manchester United, Foster made a series of saves to keep the scores level in the first half and then made two superb stops to deny Bellamy and Carragher after the break.

Foster distinguished himself rather better than his more experienced counterpart Jose Reina.

The Liverpool keeper survived a couple of jittery moments as Watford frustrated Rafael Benitez's side in that muted opening half.

The Spanish keeper fluffed an ambitious attempted volley clearance from Gerrard's back-pass and then more alarmingly flapped at Ashley Young's cross.

On that second occasion the ball landed at the feet of Bangura, but he was unable to keep his volley down.

Foster looked altogether more assured, saving Alonso's swept shot and and then Kuyt's driven effort.

The Watford keeper also reacted quickly to save Bellamy's deflected cross, pushing the ball away after it had hit Dan Shittu.

Having done so much to frustrate Liverpool in the opening half, Watford went behind almost immediately after the restart.

Gerrard and Kuyt combined in a neat exchange before the England international played the ball to the unmarked Bellamy.

The Welsh international switched the ball to his right foot before planting it into the corner of the net.

To their credit Watford refused to buckle and Reina did well to tip over Young's flicked header.

From the resulting corner the Liverpool keeper survived another scare when Anthony McNamee's deflected shot went narrowly wide.

With 20 minutes left Mark Gonzalez replaced Jermaine Pennant, with the substitute making an immediate impact.

Gonzalez threaded a pass through to Bellamy, whose shot was saved by Foster, with the Chilean winger unable to steer home a header from the rebound.

Soon afterwards Foster made his best save as he pushed away a powerful Carragher volley following a Liverpool corner.

Crouch was unlucky when he crashed a shot against the post after some neat footwork, but Alonso gave the Anfield crowd a rousing finale with a superb shot that arced its way past Foster.

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