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Wednesday, April 23, 2008 , 4:48 AM

LFC vs CFC (CL semi 1st leg)

O WHY RIISE, WHY!?!

WHY CAN'T YOU CLEAR IT THE STRAIGHTFORWARD WAY!?!

When it comes to defending, NEVER be fancy. Play it safe. Boring, yes sometimes. But the key is, it friggin' works.

I shan't be too harsh on the poor lad, he must be killing himself inside now, I doubt he's gonna get much sleep tonight. See how all the other Liver lads were trying to console him and the way he hangs his head low dejectedly. Sigh. Such is the beautiful game of football.

But honestly, I'm not too worried (a lil' worried but not to the extent of being concerned) though. I think we'd a better game than Chelski tonight. But I'm not gonna say anything that might jinx our performance. So... that's that. :)

p.s. Riise is not a Chelski player. Chin up Riise, chin up. You'll never walk alone. :) Not even in shame. It's Liverpool, mind you, we don't play the blame game. Turn this shame into strength to shine in the next leg! :)

edit: Looking at statistics, Liverpool has never scored and won at Stamford Bridge, but statistics are statistics, they never really say anything. Quoting Rafa in the liverpoolfc.tv website, "We'll change the statistics". When asked about this goalless record at Stamford Bridge under Rafa, Gerrard replied bluntly: "We haven't played there with Fernando Torres , have we?" I especially love this quote from Gerrard to comfort Riise, he said: "These ties are decided on small details and Chelsea have had a bit of luck here at the end, but maybe we'll get that luck at Stamford Bridge. This team wins, loses and draws together". Well said, Captain. :,)

Yes it might be difficult, but hey, to come back from a 3-0 deficit was MORE than difficult, looking back, it still seemed like the impossible to me. But the fact is, we did it. Come on now lads, we can do it! :D

During the first half, both sides got off to a slow start. Gradually, Liverpool was gaining on momentum and they were pumping in wave after wave of the red attack. When Kuyt fired that volley into goal and put us 1-0 up against Chelski, I was thinking we're gonna get one more if not more! But man, Cech was one helluva crazy keeper, if I had to pick a MOTM from the Chelski stable, it'd be him. Urgh. The way Chelski played last night, reminded me of some spoilt, rich, bratty kid who's just playing for the $$$ and could care less whether they win or lose. And at the very last minute, when Riise knocked in that header for them, Grumpy Grunt and the Chelski brats celebrated it like they'd won the finals. Just look at Grumpy Grunt, that dirty look on his face after Riise equalised for them, his expression gave it all away, he didn't think the Chelski brats would equalise much less win in this 1st leg and Riise's goal was like a godsend. Why why why? As I've repeated in one too many posts, Liverpool always has a knack of putting ourselves in disadvantage after putting up an awesome performance.

It could have easily been a 2-0 or even a 3-0. At the 84", Gerrard flicks the ball to the ground between and past Makelele's legs and whacks it towards the net but it flew a lil' over the crossbar, rendering a full-stretch save from Cech. Then at 86", we see a mis-step from Torres which broke his run down the left flank and towards Chelski's box, before that he kinda killed his real chance at goal after putting in one touch too many. He really should've chested/flicked the ball down on the ground, contain it, aimed and shoot. But I guess things just don't go that way in reality, there're prolly a gazillion things that he'd to consider before blasting it, stuff like inertia, finding his comfortable angle (you know, like we tend to position our pens in a particular angle when we write, just feels more comfortable and...right) etc etc.

On-pitch matters aside. Did you guys see the banner (made by Liverpool fans for a Liverpool fan) for Liam Harker during the half-time interval? Well, Liam Harker is a 17 year old teenager who was diagnosed with stomach cancer and he was given only 2-4 weeks to live and was allowed home to spend his final says with his loved ones. He is an avid fan of the Rafa reds, and his only wish was to spend his final days in a Liverpool jersey signed by the players he idolises, and he even requested to be buried in a Liverpool shirt when he died. Hence, the people at Liverpool contacted Liam's Dad and invited them to tour Anfield and meet the players and Rafa himself. But Liam's doctors advised against it considering his health condition, hence, he was presented with a jersey signed by his favorite Liverpool players. Read the full story here.

This is the spirit of Liverpool, of the Kopites. We support one another, we look out for one another even in times of trouble, I've prolly said this a gazillion times when I was asked "Why Liverpool?" back from my secondary school days, the special thing about Liverpool FC lies not only in our rich heritage and history, but also how well our fans have kept to the "You'll never walk alone" motto, we care and look out for one another like we'd to our family. And I guess this is the main reason Torres said if there's an English club he had to go to, it'll only be Liverpool. Which is also why I need (more than I want) to fly to Anfield and catch a live game standing in the Kop, standing with and amongst fellow Kopites, to cheer and sing all the signature songs with them, "You'll Never Walk Alone" of course is the holy grail of all the Liverpool chants. Call it a soccer pilgrimage if you may, there're things in life where you die-die must do or you don't feel whole, yes, this is my ultimate die-die must do thing in life. Our hearts go out to Liam and his family and loved ones, you'll never walk alone, Liam.

p.s. NEW LIVERPOOL HOME KIT IS GONNA BE UNVEILED THIS FRIDAY!!!