Bellamy Makes up for Lost Time
So the long wait is over, and that was just Liverpool's four-month search for a first away victory and a first away goal from open play in the Barclays Premiership this season. Indeed, as Liverpool supporters filed out of the JJB Stadium on Saturday evening, there was a feeling that two ghosts had been exorcised, and in the longer term, Craig Bellamy's emphatic return to form may be far more important than the three points gleaned at the expense of a hapless Wigan Athletic team.
Paul Jewell's team encountered all facets, good and bad, of Bellamy's game — the snarling irritant who was booked for lashing out at Leighton Baines, the lightning quick assassin who plundered two goals, the team player who passed up the opportunity of a hat-trick to set-up Dirk Kuyt for Liverpool's third goal.
The Sun
Wigan Athletic 0 Liverpool 4
The Latics are rapidly turning into a Merseyside gift society, as a year before, Peter Crouch was enduring a similar drought before opening his account against Wigan to spark his incredible run.
All of which was no solace to boss Jewell, left fuming at the way his side opened up in the opening half. He said: “It's very difficult to cope with that pace but we've been in the Premiership for 18 months and this is the first time we got really exposed.
“Henri Camara's as quick as Bellamy. So is that gap because our frontmen aren't as good, the passing not as good, or our central defenders aren't as quick as theirs? On the day they've been clinical and that's the difference."
The Independent
Bellamy Spark Lights the Fire for Liverpool
Jewell had to remind his players of precisely where they fit in at this level. "We aren't a team that can just sit off and stroke the ball around," he said. "They [Liverpool] have got better players than us. How many of our players would get into their team? We can only compete by getting into their faces."
Behind his frustration is a knowledge of how fast-changing this season's Premiership is. Forty minutes into his side's game at White Hart Lane last Sunday, Jewell had reason to believe that an extended stay in the Premiership's comfort zone was on the way. But the seven goals his side have conceded since put paid to all that.
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