Monthly Archives: January 2013

Rodgers ‘bitterly disappointed’ by Liverpool youngsters

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers expressed disappointment with his young players following the Reds’ shock FA Cup defeat to Oldham Athletic.

The Northern Irishman gave the likes of Jack Robinson, Andre Wisdom and Sebastian Coates an opportunity to start at Boundary Park but saw his side end up on the wrong end of a 3-2 result.

And, following the game, the 40-year-old pointed to a lack of focus as the reason for the Merseysiders’ poor showing. “We were coming here in good form and obviously we are bitterly disappointed,” Rodgers told BBC Sport.

“I was bitterly disappointed with the young players as today they had a chance to show they can play for Liverpool and compete for a club that has to challenge for trophies.

“We lost our concentration, and only had spells in the last 35 minutes when we were at the right level. Congratulations to Oldham, though.”

FA Cup fifth round draw: Arsenal to face Blackburn as Manchester United host Reading

Arsenal will face Championship club Blackburn in the FA Cup fifth round at the Emirates Stadium, while Manchester United will host Reading in an all-Premier League clash.

FA CUP FIFTH ROUND DRAW

H’field or Leicester
MK Dons
Oldham
Luton
Arsenal
Manchester City
Manchester United
Middlesbrough
vs
vs
vs
vs
vs
vs
vs
vs
Wigan
Barnsley
Everton
Millwall
Blackburn
Leeds
Reading
Brentford/Chelsea

Manchester City will welcome Leeds, who knocked out Tottenham on Sunday, to the Etihad Stadium, while Liverpool’s conquerors Oldham will face another Merseyside club in Everton.

If they can beat Brentford at the second attempt, Chelsea will face a trip to Middlesbrough in the last 16, while giantkillers Luton, who knocked out Norwich, will play Millwall at Kenilworth Road.

MK Dons, who also put out a Premier League club in QPR, will face Barnsley at home while the winners of the replay between Huddersfield and Leicester will play Wigan.

That means the tie between Premier League leaders United and struggling Reading is the only to feature two top flight clubs after a weekend of surprise results.

On Friday, Aston Villa were dispatched by Millwall, before MK Dons and Luton sprung shocks away to QPR and Norwich respectively.

Their triumphs were followed on Sunday by Brentford’s draw against Chelsea at Griffin Park and Oldham’s 3-2 victory over Liverpool.

The fifth round fixtures will take place over the weekend of February 16 and 17.

Oldham 3-2 Liverpool: Calamitous Jones costs Reds in shock cup exit

Oldham completed a memorable FA Cup weekend as they dumped Liverpool out in the fourth round at Boundary Park on Sunday.

Matt Smith had given the League One side an unexpected lead after two minutes only for Liverpool’s captain for the day Luis Suarez to equalise 15 minutes later.

But Smith scored again on the stroke of half-time, before Reece Wabara extended his side’s lead two minutes after the break.

Joe Allen pulled a goal back for the Reds on 80 minutes, but the Premier League side were ultimately powerless to stop Oldham from progressing to the fifth round for the first time in 19 years.

Paul Dickov made two changes from the Latics’ defeat at Notts County five days ago, replacing Chris Taylor with Robbie Simpson and Chris Sutherland with Lee Croft. Oldham were also missing midfielder Dean Furman through Africa Cup of Nations duty, with lifelong Liverpool supporter James Wesolowski replacing him as captain.

Meanwhile, Brendan Rodgers named an attacking 4-2-4 line up with Suarez standing in for Steven Gerrard as skipper, while Fabio Borini made his first start since fracturing his foot and Brad Jones replaced the injured Pepe Reina.

Prior to Sunday’s game, Oldham had played Liverpool four times in the FA Cup and lost on each occasion, but an apparent gulf in class didn’t show as Smith gave the hosts a shock lead in only the second minute, meeting Youssuf M’Changama’s cross to unleash a fine header.

But Liverpool hit back on 17 minutes with their first chance of the game as Suarez eased his way into the Oldham penalty area and slotted the ball comfortably past Dean Bouzanis.

The simplicity with which the visitors scored didn’t bode well for the hosts and Suarez seemed to have grabbed a second after 23 minutes but his header was ruled offside.

Sterling was then denied by Bouzanis from inside the box, but there seemed to be a distinct lack of urgency about the Reds – and they duly paid the price before half-time.

Simpson had been a constant thorn in the visitors’ side but it was goalscorer Smith who once again made the difference. First, the forward had another header denied by a fingertip save from Jones before he doubled his tally on the stroke of half time, pouncing on a loose ball after Jones went from hero to villain by spilling a straightforward cross.

Liverpool got things underway after the break and crafted an opportunity straight away, but Borini sent his shot high over the bar.

And Oldham wasted no time in capitalising as Wabara met a looping cross from substitute Carl Winchester to grab the game’s fourth goal, sending an unstoppable header into the far corner.

Gerrard and Stewart Downing were introduced by Rodgers on 55 minutes in an attempt to salvage the situation, but the visitors offered little incisiveness as the hosts defended for their lives.

But Liverpool persisted and pulled a goal back through a deflected strike from Allen on 80 minutes.

A frantic finish ensued, with Gerrard hitting the crossbar from long-distance, but the League One minnows held on to secure a famous cup victory and end Liverpool’s hopes of reclaiming the trophy for the first time since 2006.