Liverpool v Spurs Match Reports 1992-

Ref : Howard Webb (Sheffield)
Linesmen : Mr. Rob Lewis; Mr. Richard West.
Fourth official : Graham Salisbury

Liverpool Shirt sponsor : Carlsberg
Liverpool Kit supplier : Reebok
Ref. : Rob Styles  (Hampshire)
Linesmen : Mr. Chris Sargison; Mr. Andy Williams.
Fourth official : Scott Mathieson

There is nothing new about coming back from Liverpool with nothing (even hub-cabs !) and today was no different.  However, there was an over-riding feeling that although the points were, all was not lost.  It was a far more spirited showing away from home than many this season and the youngsters, who could have been on a hiding to nothing against an in-form Liverpool side, did Spurs proud.  That is not to say that they all played brilliantly, but there is a definite mood in the camp that means that they can bank the experiences from these end of season games and put them to good use in the future.  And they looked like they belonged in the first team.

When Sullivan was called into action twice in the first five minutes, there was an air of inevitability when Heskey was put away down the middle to slide it low past our keeper.  At that stage, all the memories of 1978 came flooding back and as more attacks headed toward the Spurs goal, only Sully and some dogged defending kept the score down.  Then something happened.  It was like the team realised that there was an opportunity for them to go forward and pressurise the home side.  For a minute it looked as though Tottenham had gone 0-2 down, when Owen headed a Berger shot into the net, but the referee ruled him offside and was subject to protest from the Liverpool players.  A quick free-kick to Oyvind Leonhardsen and a run up the left later and the ball found itself at the feet of Big Willie Korsten in the box on the penalty spot.  Normally, Spurs fans would start to groan at this point as they knew what was coming next, but it was an entirely different noise that emerged from their throats as he took a  touch to take the ball onto his left foot and then smashed it over Westerveld into the goal.

Liverpool reacted like an injured animal and struck back with a string of chances, mainly falling to Owen, whose finishing was not up to it’s usual level … thank goodness.  Gerrard blasted a shot that went up over (maybe via) the bar thanks to a deflection and Spurs could only relieve the pressure in small doses.  

Sherwood had chances both sides of half-time.  One when the ball came to him and he produced a nice little lob over the keeper, but it also went over the bar.  The best chance of the second half for Tottenham fell to Clemence, who, on his Dad’s old stamping ground, had the opportunity to put Spurs into an unaccustomed lead at Anfield.  His shot was well blocked by Westerveld, but having been put in by Leo again, his chip was not decisive enough to carry over the Dutch keeper.  Clem’s chance came either side of major decisions by the referee.  The first was a negative one for the Reds as Sherwood blocking the ball amidst claims that he handled it.  The second, just a couple of minutes after Spurs could have taken the lead, saw the opposite happen.  Under pressure from a crowd already spurned, the ref finally pointed to the spot, as the ball hit Thelwell this time and handball was his decision.  McAllister put away the penalty as he had done against Barcelona four days before to make it 2-1.  For the record, Fowler wrapped things up by heading home a Babbel cross as the match drew to a close, but the result was harsh on a very young Spurs side (if you took Sullivan, Sherwood and Leonhardsen out of it).

For much of the game Tottenham had equalled the effort and passing of a tired Liverpool team who (poor things) had been playing 2-3 games a week.  They didn’t really get the breaks, but with better finishing could have pushed ‘Pool to the limit.  However, the depth of the Liverpool squad was shown when Fowler came off the bench to replace Heskey, while Tottenham’s only forward substitute was 20 year old Steven Ferguson, who only a few months ago was playing his first few senior games for East Fife.  One for the future maybe, but at the moment Hoddle will be looking to see where he needs to strengthen.  There are good signs that the players on display today will be part of that future and the system that Glenn has introduced might suit most of them down to the ground (which will make a change from Route One).

MEHSTG TOP MAN : – NEIL SULLIVAN (Is this getting boring ?)

 Gary Sampson

Liverpool : –  Sander Westerveld, Marcus Babbel, Stephane Henchoz, Sami Hyypia, Jamie Carragher (Gregory Vignal 64), Vladimir Smicer (Hamann 54), Steven Gerrard, Gary McAllister, Patrik Berger, Emile Heskey (Robbie Fowler 40), Michael Owen.
Subs Not Used : –  Danny Murphy, Pegguy Arphexad.

Tottenham : –  Neil Sullivan, Stephen Carr, Anthony Gardner, Luke Young, Alton Thelwell, Simon Davies (John Piercy 78), Stephen Clemence, Oyvind Leonhardsen, Tim Sherwood, Gary Doherty, Willem Korsten.
Subs Not Used : –  Ian Walker, Matthew Etherington, David Hillier, Steven Ferguson.
Crowd : –  43,547
Referee : –  Barry Knight (Orpington)
Scorers : –   Liverpool  –   Heskey 7, McAllister (pen) 73, Fowler 88
Tottenham  –  Korsten 23
Weather : –  Light rain

The rain seems to suit Spurs.  Wins over Manchester United and Liverpool at home last season in wet conditions were a good omen I was told before the game.  When I walked in and saw Owen lining up alongside Fowler, my heart sank.  What cheered me was the presence of Alton Thelwell and Ledley King in the Spurs side.  There was no requirement for Big Ramon to appear as Heskey was suspended and they had no heavyweight to replace him.  Therefore a back line of Carr, Young, Perry, Clemence and Thelwell took to the pitch.  King played in front of them in midfield alongside Sherwood and Anderton, with Les and Sergei up front.  

The match started in contrast to the last few, with Spurs being made to defend.  Within the first ten minutes Liverpool had two good chances with Owen dragging one wide across Sullivan from the right hand side of the box, while Murphy failed to control a ball into him and finished weakly straight at the Spurs keeper.  Smicer was soon in the book for his third late challenge on Carr and Fowler was lucky not to join him for the best dive seen since the Sydney Olympics.  However, the visitors went ahead fortuitously when Murphy tried to bring a high ball down for himself and it ran sideways to Fowler who drilled it into an unguarded net.  The mis-control had fooled the Spurs defence and Young was a little behind the Liverpool scorer to get a tackle in.  It was their first direct shot on goal and Spurs had not being doing badly.  

The formation changed soon after Liverpool had gone ahead though.  Clem pushed up further into midfield and Thelwell covered the left back position.  This change paid off when Rebrov chased a ball deep into the left hand corner of the pitch.  He hassled Henchoz and got possession, then did a neat back heel to put Clemence in for a low cross that took out Westerveld and found Les arriving.  He stuck it away like he used to do !!  The goal seemed to do wonders for him and he played the next 20 minutes like he was 23 !!  Spurs were playing the ball around very nicely, with King playing some astute passes.  There was one interchange on the Red’s right which saw Fowler crack a shot wide from a skidding cross, but it was a rangy ball from Luke Young that opened Liverpool up for a second time.  Finding Clem running beyond the ‘Pool defence, he measured a cross onto Sherwood’s head for the second goal.  It was a very good move, which saw Tottenham use the ball well and have players moving well off it. The traffic wasn’t all one way though.  Sullivan had to be on form to tip over a header from Hyypia and the Spurs defence did well to get in the way on a few occasions.

Half time came and the second half started well for Spurs, with the side still confident enough to knock the ball about and try to create chances.  Not many came direct on the Liverpool goal, but they did keep the pressure on their defence.  Owen did get through the middle once, but Sullivan dived out to prevent him equalising and apart from that it was a procession of long shots, mainly by the wayward (and begloved) Hamann and towards the end long balls up to the makeshift striker Hyypia.  As for Tottenham, they didn’t score again, but it wasn’t for the want of trying.  Carr came closest.  One marauding run down the right saw him finish with a chip to the far post that was so accurate that it bounced back off it !!  His other attempt was when he saw Westerveld off his line and tried to shoot over him from the half way line.  His effort was just a little short of causing the Dutch keeper some problems.

Liverpool resorted to some low tactics when they realised they were going to lose.  Owen showed his real face with some cynical challenges and Fowler was just as much responsible for the referee losing control in the last 10 minutes with a series of unaccountable decisions.  He seemed to be allowing Liverpool to dictate the game to him.  But still, Stephen Carr’s exultant celebration at the end of the match showed how much it meant to him and the supporters also savoured the moment.  A top performance and the best seen at home this season, I’d say.

MEHSTG TOP MAN : – LUKE YOUNG

Pete Stachio

Teams : –
Spurs : –  Neil Sullivan, Stephen Carr, Alton Thelwell, Luke Young, Chris Perry, Ledley King, Darren Anderton    57, Stephen Clemence, Tim Sherwood (Steffen Freund  85), Les Ferdinand, Sergei Rebrov (Chris Armstrong 84)
Unused subs : – Ian Walker, Ramon Vega, Willem Korsten
Manager : – George Graham
Liverpool : –  Sander Westerveld, Markus Babbel    72, Djimi Traore (Steven Gerrard 65), Stephane Henchoz, Sami Hyypia, Dietmar Hamann, Gary McAllister, Danny Murphy (Jamie Carragher 79), Vladimir Smicer    30  (Nick Barmby 61), Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen
Unused subs : –  Pegguy Arphexad, Gregory Vignal
Manager : – Gerard Houllier
Attendance : – 36,036
Ref : – Mark Halsey (Bolton)

Scorers : –
Spurs : –  Ferdinand 32, Sherwood 41
Liverpool : – Fowler  18

A win against another of the teams above us at home only went to re-emphasise the need to pick up points away in striving to enter the elite of the Premier League.  This match also served to prove that a top class goal-poacher should be a priority in the coming months, as with that sort of striker in the side, Spurs could have won this by a hatful.  Indeed, although he played with great energy and enthusiasm, Armo could have had five goals on his own – the one he did get being perhaps one of the least likely to go in.  Westerveld was in splendid form and denied Iversen on three occasions – one stretching save from Ivo’s header was only possible because of his great reach.  He also stopped Ginola from opening his account for 2000 with a tip around the post to a low, skidding shot.

But it was the way Tottenham started out that did the trick.  They seemed  much more willing to take the game to Liverpool and although Camara got three of our players booked through his mix of trickery and acrobatics, Liverpool rarely extended Walker.  When he was called upon in the second half, he shot off his line to block Smicer’s shot and hack the loose ball away.  The Czech also curled an effort just wide of Walker’s right hand post.  The only other moment of concern came when Camara wriggled free and Walker pushed his shot aside, but straight to Gerrard.  Luckily he was put off by Taricco and put his shot wide of a semi-open goal. But the majority of the action centred around the Liverpool goal.  Ginola obviously wanted  a result desperately today.  His denouncement by Houllier, when national manager, fired him up to produce a performance that had “revenge” written all over it.  Not a day for personal glory, but one for the team to get what they should and a show of how he can play within the team structure for the benefit of the team.  His crossing was sublime, his effort obvious and his shooting accurate.  If he played like this every week, he would prove indispensable – even to GG.  Armstrong desperately needed a goal and his headers which were off target exasperated the crowd, but just when you thought he would never score … he takes a bouncing ball and lashes it past the Reds keeper from 20 odd yards and bulges the net.  Inspired by this he was getting onto the end of crosses, but could not find the net with them.  Even when Westerveld came rushing out of his box in the second half, Armstrong rounded him, but could not slip the ball into the net … it went agonisingly across the six yard box and was only just diverted wide of the post by Hyypia.  It was heartening to see him still chasing down the visiting defenders towards the end too.  Four minutes after, it appeared that Spurs had gone 2-0 up, when Sol headed in a  cross from Ginola’s free-kick, but the ref disallowed the goal because of offside.

Just a quick word to say how much the referee spoiled this game.  He fell for every fall that Camara made; he let the same player get away with kicking Perry while on the floor; he let Thompson get away with an assault on Taricco seconds after he had entered the game; he stopped play for attention to Gerrard, just as Spurs had broken away – some 20 seconds after the injury had taken place; he couldn’t tell a corner from a goal-kick and really, Mr. Wilkie should be called to task over his handling of this game.  When he was booking people for trivial matters, serious fouls were going unpunished. 

The starting line up featured Clemence and Young in midfield, which was unusual, but both played admirably and Clem showed that he could have a place in the squad, while Young demonstrated his versatility.  Carr was his regular self again and enhances the team greatly with his runs up the right.  Sol and Perry were both troubled by the player who we rejected last season – Camara – but that was only because he seemed to be trying to exact some retribution for his failure to become a Spur.  I know he has done well for Liverpool already, but I do think it is  a flash in the pan.  A very pleasing performance, but the lack of the killer instinct makes games like this too nail-biting with only one goal to the good and time ticking away.

MEHSTG TOP MAN : – CHRIS ARMSTRONG

Spurs –  Ian Walker, Stephen Carr, Chris Perry, Sol Campbell, Mauricio Taricco, Luke Young, Tim Sherwood, Stephen Clemence, David Ginola, Chris Armstrong, Steffen Iversen
Subs not used :  , ,
Manager : –
Liverpool –   Sander Westerveld, Dominic Matteo, Sami Hyypia, Stephane Henchoz, Vegard Heggem, Patrik Berger (Danny Murphy 73), Jamie Carragher (David Thompson 57), Dietmar Hamman, Steven Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer (Steve Staunton 81), Titi Camara.
Subs not used :
Manager : – Gerard Houllier
Ref. :  Alan Wilkie (Durham)
Attendance : –   36,044

Eric the Viking

Liverpool : –  Brad Friedel, Bjorn Tore Kvarme (Steven Gerrard 45), Steve Staunton, Jamie Carragher, Dominic Matteo, Paul Ince, Oyvind Leonhardsen (Rigobert Song 75), Jamie Redknapp, David Thompson (Stig Inge Bjornebye 88), Karl-Heinz Riedle 
Unused subs. :  David James, Sean Dundee
Spurs : –  Ian Walker  , Stephen Carr, Roger Nilsen, Sol Campbell, Mauricio Taricco       44 , Steffen Freund   ,  (Tim Sherwood 67), Darren Anderton, Stephen Clemence (Ledley King 45), Jose Dominguez (Ruel Fox 81), Steffen Iversen, Chris Armstrong  
Unused subs. :  Espen Baardsen, David Ginola
Ref. :  Stephen Lodge (Barnsley)
Attendance:  44,007
Weather :  Sunny

The gap between the top teams doesn’t seem that big anymore; well it wouldn’t be if Liverpool were one of the top teams. The only time they threatened was when Fox fouled Fowler and Berger curled the free-kick past Walker. This prompted a spell of pressure as they stepped up the pace to find an equaliser. Luckily for Spurs this did not arrive, but this was because of lots of hard work to defend their lead and some good tackling and blocking. Walker forced Owen to shoot across the goal by narrowing the angle at this near post and also came out to smother the England striker’s run on goal. Sol was again the main stumbling block for most of the Pool attacks, but when they did get shots in, Ince, Fowler and Berger were all off target.

The match had started strangely, with Tottenham sluggish. Liverpool had the best of the first 15 minutes, but failed to create much, whereas Spurs had appeals for two penalties turned down after Armstrong and Iversen were sent sprawling. A scramble in the visitors penalty area lead to Anderton’s volley being cleared off the line and at the other end Ince’s header went just wide of the post. James made a smart full-length save to push an effort from Anderton round the post and seemed very dodgy on crosses, often opting to punch when he could have used his considerable height to catch the ball. Iversen had a goal disallowed for offside after a good passing movement found him in space in the penalty area. James stood no chance however, when Foxy hit a long shot that caught a deflection on the way. Les came on after half an hour after James clattered Steffen and he didn’t appear to know what day it was when he got up. In fact, the referee was letting an awful lot go – two footed tackles by Owen and a studs-up challenge on Sinton by Fowler, both of which you would have expected from Ince.

The break came and Tottenham broke away from a Liverpool attack and the ball found Armstrong on the right wing. He was being dragged back by his shirt, but got away from Babb and played a hard and low cross into the six-yard box. Ferdinand was rushing in to meet it, but was beaten to the ball by Carragher, who got a foot to the ball sending it speeding through James’ legs into the goal. This then got the Reds in a state where they were ready to respond. Although Ginola had been quiet for a long period of the second half, he began to take possession and make progress up the left wing. His runs brought a booking for Thompson, but really the tackle was a lot milder than some of the earlier challenges that had gone unpunished. There were further chances for Tottenham when a header by Les across the area fell to Heggem on the line rather than one of the Spurs players nearby and Armstrong hit a powerful shot, after breaking away, that caused James great pain in his hands.

A much needed win with other hard games coming up, but one which was well deserved. The whole team ran and closed down their opponents to protect the lead, but also played with a lot of confidence and poise in the first half. When Liverpool came on strong, the side did not buckle as they may have done in the past, but stood firm and made sure they did not pass. Young looked good alongside the impressive Sol. Sinton stuck to his duties at left back and Carr engaged in some good link play along the other flank. Ginola took on his men and worried most of the afternoon, while Les was excellent in the air and tracked back to get the ball back. Anderton, Nielsen and Fox all did the spadework and found time to get forward, while for his running when alone upfront with the ball and general effort in closing down defenders …

MEHSTG TOP MAN : CHRIS ARMSTRONG

Teams : –
Spurs : – Ian Walker, Sol Campbell, Stephen Carr, Luke Young, Darren Anderton, Ruel Fox, David Ginola, Allan Nielsen, Andy Sinton, Chris Armstrong, Steffen Iversen (Les Ferdinand 33)
Unused subs. : –
Liverpool : –  David James, Phil Babb, Stig Inge Bjornebye (Danny Murphy 75), Vegard Heggem, Steve Staunton, Jamie Carragher, Patrik Bergerm Steven Gerrard (David Thompson 55  ), Paul Ince, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen
Unused subs. : –
Ref. : – – (-)
Linesmen : –  Mr. ; Mr. –
Fourth Official : –
Attendance : –  36,125

Twenty seconds in and I thought here we go again, as McAteer headed a half-cleared ball against the bar. Two minutes in and hurrah!! Iversen loops a header from Sol’s long ball into the net over a floundering Friedel. As time went by, it proved to me that despite my pessimism, there could be something in this for Spurs and lo and behold, when Scales scored (yes, you did read correctly) I was convinced. A free-kick into the centre of the Pool box was stabbed at by Steffen, causing the keeper to fumble the ball to Scales on the six yard line. He picked his spot and put the ball away for 2-0. Sol might have increased the lead with a good link up down the left and the defence were holding firm against some dangerous crosses, but there was little for Espen the Viking to deal with directly.

The second half saw a reshuffle in the Tottenham ranks with Rory Allen replacing Ginola, who had taken a knock on his calf. This meant that there was more of the ball coming straight back at the Tottenham rearguard as it wasn’t being held up as well as earlier in the match. While Allen is not robust enough to shake up Premier League defenders, he did alright and chased and hassled alongside Iversen. The Reds came out fired up, no doubt by their soon to be fired (half) manager, Roy Evans. There was almost non-stop pressure on the Spurs’ goal, with Riedle going close with a header, but the back line soaked up the onslaught and Anderton fed Iversen, who hooked the ball into the path of the onrushing Nielsen. He strode through the non-existent Liverpool defence and faced with Friedel, showed him one way and slipped the ball past his right hand and in for Tottenham’s third goal. This seemed to wrap the game up and when Espen saved smartly to tip over Riedle’s header, it looked like a clean sheet would accompany the three goals. However, I had forgotten the unwritten rule of Baardsen in the League Cup. His obligatory cock-up came when he ran out to clear a long through ball and with the opportunity to put it anywhere in Anfield, he kicked it straight against Owen and watched as it bounced across the penalty area, with the England man chasing after it to put it into an empty net. The saving grace was that young Michael injured himself doing so and the late surge was a whole lot less effective without him (although Sol had nullified his threat during the rest of the match). Iversen had another breakaway well saved low down by the keeper and some shots flew wide of the Tottenham goal, but a famous victory could not be denied. Despite the fact that we gave the ball away needlessly, this was our biggest win at Anfield and the first time we have scored three goals there. What a night. Oh, for a similar outcome on Saturday .

MEHSTG TOP MAN : – ALLAN NIELSEN, well deserved goal for all his hard work and just pipped most of the rest of the side, who all performed heroically.

Teams : –
Liverpool : – Brad Friedel, Stig Inge Bjornebye, Vegard Heggem, Steve Staunton, Jamie Carragher, Paul Ince, Oyvind Leonhardsen (Karl-Heinz Riedle 46), Jason McAteer, David Thompson, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen (Danny Murphy 82).
Unused subs. : –
Joint Managers : – Roy Evans/Gerard Houllier
Spurs : –  Espen Baardsen, Colin Calderwood, Sol Campbell, Stephen Carr, Ramon Vega, John Scales, Darren Anderton, David Ginola (Rory Allen 46 [Ruel Fox 90]), Allan Nielsen, Andy Sinton (Clive Wilson 82), Steffen Iversen
Unused subs. : – .
Manager : George Graham

Ref. : – Gary Willard (Worthing, Sussex)
Linesmen : Mr. David Morrall; Mr. Joe Taylor
Fourth Official : Chris Hoy
Attendance : – 20,772

If you’d have said to me before the game that we’d have scored three goals, I would have been very happy. If you’d have told me we would get a point, I would have bitten your hand off.

So, why am I so fed up ?? I can’t believe that having led three times in the match, that we’ve thrown away two points by only coming out of it with a draw. As a friend said, if we were mid-table, then it would have been possible to appreciate how exciting the game had been, but the desperate need for points means you just feel like you’ve been kicked in the guts.

Taking the lead when Jurgen headed home Ginola’s right wing cross, Spurs were playing well and could have gone further ahead when Klinsmann was foiled by Friedel and Nielsen’s follow-up shot was blocked on the line. Liverpool then caught us on the break and McManaman had the freedom of the penalty box to lash the ball past Baardsen. Espen had done very well to prevent Owen from scoring on three occasions in the first half.

Within minutes of the restart, David Ginola had cut inside from the right and bent a left foot shot past a couple of defenders into the bottom corner of the net. The lead lasted for about 20 minutes this time until the Reds broke again and Ince’s overhead kick squared things. The game threatened to get out of hand after Harkness lunged two-footed at Berti from behind.  Referee Uriah Rennie, who is supposed to be top of the heap in terms of the men in charge, produced a yellow card, when red would have been more fitting. The ref’s handling of the game was lenient to say the least.

Ginola’s free-kick found Nielsen’s head and directing it downwards, the ball bounced up onto the crossbar and was put behind for a corner. Ginola again took the place kick and this time Vega’s header found the net. With only nine minutes left, the ball was bobbling around the Liverpool area and fell to our Danish midfielder again. This time he took it on his chest and produced a very tidy bicycle kick. The ball thudded against the post and rebounded out. The play suddenly switched to the other end and Owen nudged the ball past Baardsen, the ball hit the post and rebounded into play … straight to McManaman who tied it up at 3-3.  Even then, Spurs could have taken the points when Fox’s mis-hit shot fell to Jurgen, but as he reacted the ball flew over the bar. 

This was probably a cracking match for the neutral, but many more like this and I’ll be cracking up !!

Teams : –
Spurs : –  Espen Baardsen, Stephen Carr, Ramon Vega, Sol Campbell, Clive Wilson, Allan Nielsen, Ruel Fox, Nicola Berti  , David Ginola    (Garry Brady 86), Teddy Sheringham, Chris Armstrong (David Howells 60)
Unused Subs. : –  Frode Grodas, Colin Calderwood, Gary Mabbutt
Liverpool : – Brad Friedel, Stig Inge Bjornebye, Steve Harkness  , Dominic Matteo, Jamie Carragher (David Thompson 61  ), Oyvind Leonhardsen (Phil Babb 67), Rob Jones  , Jamie Redknapp, Paul Ince, Steve McManaman, Michael Owen
Unused Subs. : –
Ref. : –  Uriah Rennie (South Yorkshire)
Attendance :  – 32,899

Spurs put in a fine performance in this Premier League match, but somehow lost 0-4.   In a first half that Tottenham dominated, Ginola, Scales and Iversen all had good opportunities, but two quick goals after the break turned the game in Liverpool’s favour.  Walker did well to stop Jamie Redknapp’s cross-shot, but it fell to Steve McManaman hit the loose ball home in the 48th minute.  A goal was curled in from the edge of the area by Oyvind Leonhardsen after Walker had stopped Robbie Fowler’s shot two minutes after the first, then goals from Redknapp on 65 minutes with a powerful drive past Walker, who was taken by surprise by the 18 yard and substitute Michael Owen, played in by Ince in the 85th rounded off the scoring for the home side after colliding with Walker as they went for the ball, with the Liverpool forward first to recover.

Liverpool :   David James, Stig Inge Bjornebye, Rob Jones (Jason McAteer 87), Bjorn Tore Kvarme, Dominic Matteo, Jamie Redknapp  , Oyvind Leonhardsen, Paul Ince, Steve McManaman (Patrik Berger 87), Robbie Fowler, Karl-Heinz Riedle (Michael Owen 75)
Unused subs :  Steve Harkness, Nielsen
Spurs : –  Ian Walker, Justin Edinburgh, David Howells, Sol Campbell, John Scales, Colin Calderwood (Andy Sinton 68), Stephen Carr, Darren Anderton (Jose Dominguez 68), David Ginola  , Steffen Iversen, Rory Allen (Chris Armstrong 14)
Unused subs : –  Espen Baardsen, Ruel Fox
Ref. : – Stephen Lodge (Barnsley)
Attendance : –  38,006

Tottenham’s early lead was not enough to keep Liverpool from taking the points in this Premier League game at Anfield.

Campbell’s cross was headed in by Darren Anderton to put Tottenham ahead in the sixth minute and Ramon Vega could have added to the lead, but was just wide.  However, Stan Collymore equalised in the fifteenth minute and later a powerful drive from Patrik Berger won the match for the home team.  Espen Baardsen had replaced Ian Walker at the break to make his debut and made some very good saves from Collymore, McManaman and Redknapp, while Howells diving header went close and other opportunities were created for Vega, Fox and Campbell.

Teams :
Liverpool –  David James, Stig Inge Bjornebye, Bjorn Tore Kvarme, Neil Ruddock  , Mark Wright, Jason McAteer, Michael Thomas, Steve McManaman, Patrik Berger, Jamie Redknapp, Stan Collymore.
Subs not used :   Tony Warner, Steve Harkness, Jamie Carragher, John Barnes, Michael Owen
Manager : – Roy Evans
Spurs –  Ian Walker (Espen Baardsen 46), Dean Austin, Colin Calderwood, Sol Campbell, John Scales, Ramon Vega, Jason Dozzell, Ruel Fox (David Howells 46), Andy Sinton, Darren Anderton   (Paul McVeigh 75), Teddy Sheringham
Subs not used : –
Manager : – Gerry Francis
Attendance : –   40,003
Ref. : – Mike Reed

Spurs made a bright start and had openings with Chris Armstrong, Teddy Sheringham and Stephen Carr all having good chances and Sol Campbell had a goal disallowed.   The match turned when Michael Thomas hit the opening goal right on half-time.  The game was put beyond Spurs just after the break, when Steve McManaman hit a speculative low drive that Walker appeared to have covered, until it hit a divot in the Park Lane penalty area and flew over the diving keeper to give Liverpool the lead in the 48th minute.  McManaman threatened later in the game, when he hit the woodwork, but there was no further scoring.  

Teams :
Spurs –  Ian Walker, Stephen Carr, Sol Campbell, Colin Calderwood, Clive Wilson, Ruel Fox, Allan Nielsen, David Howells, Andy Sinton    (Justin Edinburgh   56), Teddy Sheringham, Chris Armstrong (Rory Allen 46)
Subs not used : –  Espen Baardsen, Dean Austin, Jason Dozzell
Manager : – Gerry Francis
Liverpool –   David James, Stig Inge Bjornebye, Neil Ruddock, Mark Wright, Phil Babb, Jason McAteer, Michael Thomas, Steve McManaman  , Patrik Berger, John Barnes, Robbie Fowler.
Subs not used :  Tony Warner, Rob Jones, Dominic Matteo, Jamie Redknapp, Mark Kennedy
Manager : – Roy Evans
Attendance : –   32,899
Ref. : – Graham Poll (Herts)

Teams :
Liverpool –  David James, Rob Jones    57  (Ian Rush 83), John Scales, Phil Babb, Mark Wright, Jason McAteer    85, Michael Thomas, Steve McManaman, Stan Collymore, John Barnes, Robbie Fowler.
Subs not used :  Tony Warner, Jamie Redknapp
Manager : – Roy Evans
Spurs –  Ian Walker, Dean Austin, Justin Edinburgh    85, Colin Calderwood, Sol Campbell (Stuart Nethercott 76), Gary Mabbutt (c), Clive Wilson, Ruel Fox, Andy Sinton    41 (Ronny Rosenthal 90), Chris Armstrong, Teddy Sheringham.
Subs not used :  Chris Day
Manager : – Gerry Francis
Attendance : –   40,628
Ref : – Steve Lodge (Barnsley)

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Teams :
Spurs –  Ian Walker, Justin Edinburgh, Colin Calderwood, Gary Mabbutt (c), Clive Wilson, David Howells, Gerard McMahon (Jason Dozzell 69), Chris Armstrong, Ilie Dumitrescu, Ronny Rosenthal, Teddy Sheringham
Subs not used :  Erik Thorstvedt, Stuart Nethercott
Manager : – Gerry Francis
Liverpool –  David James, Rob Jones, Steve Harkness, Phil Babb, Mark Wright, Neil Ruddock, Jamie Redknapp, Steve McManaman (Michael Thomas 79), Ian Rush, John Barnes, Robbie Fowler.
Subs not used :
Manager : – Roy Evans
Attendance : –   31,254
Ref. : – Keith Cooper

Teams :
Spurs –  Ian Walker, Dean Austin, Stuart Nethercott (David Kerslake 87), Justin Edinburgh, Gary Mabbutt    81, Darren Anderton, David Howells, Ronny Rosenthal, Nicky Barmby, Jurgen Klinsmann, Teddy Sheringham
Subs not used :  Erik Thorstvedt, Darren Caskey
Manager : –
Liverpool –  David James, Rob Jones, Stig Inge Bjornebye, Phil Babb, John Scales, Neil Ruddock, Jamie Redknapp, Steve McManaman, Michael Thomas, Robbie Fowler    62, Mark Walters    53 (Nigel Clough 78).
Subs not used :  Tony Warner, Mark Wright
Shirt sponsor : Carlsberg
Kit supplier :  adidas
Manager : –
Ref. : –  Paul Danson (-)
Linesmen : –  Mr. . – (Red trim); Mr. . – (Yellow Trim)
Attendance : –  31,988

Teams :
Liverpool –  David James, Rob Jones, Phil Babb, John Scales, Neil Ruddock, Jamie Redknapp, Steve McManaman, Ian Rush, John Barnes (Michael Thomas 72), Robbie Fowler, Mark Walters (Stig Inge Bjornebye 72).
Subs not used : Tony Warner
Manager : Roy Evans
Shirt sponsor : Carlsberg
Kit supplier : adidas
Managers : Roy Evans; Gerry Francis
Spurs –  Ian Walker, Dean Austin, Colin Calderwood, Justin Edinburgh, Gary Mabbutt, Darren Anderton, David Howells, Ronny Rosenthal, Nicky Barmby, Jurgen Klinsmann, Teddy Sheringham
Subs not used : 
Manager : Gerry Francis
Ref. : – Martin Bodenham (East Looe, Cornwall)
Linesmen : Mr. B. D. Priest (Red trim); Mr. R. F. Jeavons (Yellow Trim)
Attendance : –  35,007

Robbie Fowler’s first half penalty looked like being enough for the home side to take all three points, but the intervention of former Spurs defender Neil Ruddock ensured Tottenham went home with a point, when he diverted the ball past his own goalkeeper in the second period.

Teams :
Liverpool –  David James, Rob Jones, Phil Babb, John Scales, Jamie Redknapp, Steve McManaman, Ian Rush, John Barnes (Michael Thomas 55), Stig Inge Bjornebye, Robbie Fowler, Neil Ruddock
Unused subs : Lee Jones, Michael Stensgaard
Manager : Roy Evans
Shirt sponsors : Carlsberg
Kit supplier : Adidas
Match sponsor : Candy
Spurs –  Ian Walker, Dean Austin, Colin Calderwood, Sol Campbell, Gheorghe Popescu, Gary Mabbutt, Darren Anderton (Ilie Dumitrescu 46), David Howells, Nicky Barmby, Jurgen Klinsmann, Teddy Sheringham
Subs not used : –  Chris Day, Stuart Nethercott
Manager : Gerry Francis
Attendance : –  35,007
Ref. :  Stephen Lodge (Barnsley)
Linesmen : Mr. I. Blanchard (Yellow trim); Mr. A. Street (Red trim)

A game that swung back and forth ended up all square after six goals.

A minute’s silence was held before the game for the recent deaths of legendary skipper Danny Blanchflower and Len Julians, who was the Football in the Community officer at Spurs. 

Once the football got underway, it was a pulsating game.  Tottenham took the lead in the 37th minute thanks to Vinny Samways’ low finish, but three minutes after the break Robbie Fowler levelled the score and three minutes after that Jamie Redknapp gave the Reds the advantage.  It was soon 1-3 as Fowler converted a spot-kick for his second of the match in the 55th minute, but another penalty, this time for Spurs, saw Micky Hazard peg the visitors back to 2-3 with just 21 minutes remaining.   Darren Caskey was on target in the 77th minute of the match to tie it up at 3-3 and the points were shared.

Teams :
Spurs –   Erik Thorstvedt, David Kerslake, Steve Sedgley, Colin Calderwood, Justin Edinburgh     54, Darren Anderton, Jason Dozzell, Darren Caskey, Vinny Samways, Micky Hazard, Nicky Barmby
Subs not used :  Ian Walker, Dean Austin, Sol Campbell
Manager : –  Ossie Ardiles
Attendance : –    31,394
Liverpool –  Bruce Grobbelaar, Steve Harkness    59, Dominic Matteo (Mark Walters 82), Rob Jones, Steve Nicol, Mark Wright, Steve McManaman, Jamie Redknapp, John Barnes (Nigel Clough 45), Robbie Fowler, Ian Rush.
Subs not used :  David James
Manager : –  Graeme Souness
Attendance : –    31,394
Ref. : – Robbie Hart

Sheringham’s two goals, one from the penalty spot gave Spurs a rare win at Anfield despite Nigel Clough putting the home team ahead at Anfield.

.

Teams :
Liverpool –  Bruce Grobbelaar, David Burrows (Mark Walters 57), Rob Jones, Steve Nicol, Mark Wright, Neil Ruddock, Steve McManaman, Jan Molby, Nigel Clough, Ronnie Whelan, Ian Rush.
Subs not used :  Mike Hooper, Mike Marsh
Manager : Graeme Souness
Shirt sponsor : Carlsberg
Kit supplier : adidas
Spurs –   Erik Thorstvedt, Dean Austin, Steve Sedgley, Colin Calderwood, Sol Campbell, Gary Mabbutt (c), Jason Dozzell, David Howells (Darren Caskey 83), Vinny Samways, Gordon Durie, Teddy Sheringham
Subs not used :  Ian Walker, Darren Anderton
Manager : Ossie Ardiles
Attendance : –  42,456

Ref : Kieran Barrett (West Midlands)
Linesmen : Mr. R. Pearson (Yellow trim); Mr. P. R. Richards (Red trim)
Match sponsor : Candy

An inexperienced Spurs side crashed 2-6 at Anfield to a free-flowing Liverpool team.

The first came just after 21 minutes, when Ian Rush shot home from inside the box, which was followed by John Barnes heading in a right wing cross in the 44th minute.  A minute after the restart Teddy Sheringham scored from a Ruddock free-kick, but Stuart Nethercott scored an own goal three minutes after the break, when he deflected a Steve Harkness shot following a left wing corner.  Steve Sedgley got a goal back to make it 3-2, receiving a pass from Darren Anderton, the Spurs midfielder went past Mark Wright before putting a low shot into the net with 77 minutes on the clock.

After that it was all Liverpool as they went on to rack up a 6-2 score-line with a Mark Walters penalty in the 82nd minute, Ian Rush grabbing a second on 85 minutes and Barnes’ second wrapping it up with two minutes left.  

Teams :
Liverpool –  Bruce Grobbelaar, Mark Wright, Rob Jones    89, Steve Harkness, David Burrows, Steve Nicol, Jamie Redknapp, Don Hutchison, Mark Walters, Ian Rush, John Barnes.
Subs not used :  Mike Hooper, Torben Piechnik, Robbie Fowler
Spurs –  Ian Walker, David McDonald, Pat van den Hauwe    43 (Stuart Nethercott 46), Steve Sedgley, Gary Mabbutt (c), Neil Ruddock, Darren Anderton, Kevin Watson (Lee Hodges 66), Danny Hill, Paul Allen, Teddy Sheringham
Subs not used :  Kevin Dearden
Attendance : –  43,385
Ref. : – Steve Lodge (Yorkshire)

Spurs hosted the Bootleg Beatles as pre-match entertainment to welcome Liverpool to White Hart Lane, before serving up a 2-0 home win over the Merseysiders.   Spurs were awarded a free-kick in the centre circle, which was played into the Liverpool penalty area, but it was headed clear.  The ball went out to the 25 yard position where Nayim lashed a looping right foot volley over the keeper to hand Tottenham the lead.  Tottenham got a second goal when a Nayim corner was flicked on at the near post to Neil Ruddock, who headed the ball in, even though it had been slightly behind him.

Teams :
Spurs –   Erik Thorstvedt, Dean Austin    68 (David Howells 72), Gary Mabbutt, Neil Ruddock, Justin Edinburgh, Paul Allen, Steve Sedgley, Nayim, Nicky Barmby (Andy Turner 82), Gordon Durie, Teddy Sheringham
Unused Sub. : –  Kevin Dearden
Manager : – Doug Livermore
Liverpool –  David James, Mark Wright, Torben Piechnik    11, David Burrows, Don Hutchinson    35, Michael Thomas, Mike Marsh, Jamie Redknapp (Paul Stewart 73), Steve MacManaman, Ian Rush, Mark Walters    14 (Nick Tanner 78).
Unused Sub. : –  Mike Hooper
Manager : –  Graeme Souness
Attendance : –  32,917
Ref. : – Gerald Ashby