There was just one pre-season fixture last night, but as far as the red side of the Mersey is concerned it was an important step in the right direction. Liverpool saw off FK Rabotnicki by a two-nil scoreline for the second time in a week to comfortably qualify for this season’s Europa League. The fans also got their first home glimpse of new signings Milan Jovanovic and Joe Cole, as well as promising displays from the young breed such as Daniel Pacheco who was recently lighting up the European Under-19 Championships.
Liverpool have been experiencing a poor pre-season having failed to score in their three non-Europa League ties -it must be noted however, with very youthful outfits on display- so the result and performance in their final game before the Premier League kicks off will have given a welcome boost of confidence to the squad, Roy Hodgson and the fans alike.
David N’Gog, who had already put Liverpool firmly into cruise control in the opening fixture of this tie, scored another goal when he was found in acres of space in the penalty box to head home a Joe Cole centre and then later in the first half was dragged down by his marker in the penalty box, allowing Steven Gerrard to convert from the penalty spot and make qualification a foregone conclusion….
It was Liverpool’s new signing Joe Cole who attracted the most attention after the game, however, having once more played in his favoured position, just behind N’Gog up front on his Anfield debut. Cole, as previously mentioned, set up N’Gog for the first goal but also forced the Rabotnicki goalkeeper to make a few decent saves himself, as well as having an effort ricochet off the woodwork – though effort is perhaps strong, quite probably an overhit cross.
With that being said, his manager and team-mates alike thought he put in a more than hearty display with Hodgson waxing lyrical in his post-match comments…
“His energy and enthusiasm tonight meant he had a really good home debut,” the boss told reporters at a post-match press conference…When you have got a player of his quality, you work hard to get him on the field and you put him on the field in a position where he is going to best serve the team.”
Much on the same track, club captain Steven Gerrard felt that the effort of his new team-mate was more than commendable…
“The fans here appreciate Joe is a good player who will create goals and score them. They also saw a different side to his game tonight as his work rate was phenomenal and we need more of that.”
Cole comes in at a rather expensive £9.0m in the Fantasy Premier League game, but has so far attracted investment from 10% of all managers currently in the game. The Metro game offers a more budget conscious £7.2m alongside the likes of the unfancied Stewart Downing and company. However, Liverpool have a tough start to the season with Arsenal, Man City and United in their first five, so it will be up to Roy Hodgson to take the team away now for the next week or so and build on last night’s performance, and most importantly, the result. As the manager said himself…
“It’s enough. One more (goal) than the opposition is always enough.”
If Liverpool can do that a few times at the start of their season, Mr. Hodgson will be a very happy man.
Keep your eyes peeled on our Pre-Season Form Guide for updates on all the other Premier League teams as the final warm-up matches of the summer kick off over the coming weekend. If you want more opinion on Joe Cole meanwhile, scan over our earlier Scout Report from Sir Paulos.