Soccer Scene Houllier substitutions win FA Cup for Liverpool

By Joe Behan

In the 77th minute of the FA Cup Final, Liverpool boss Gerard Houllie, played his ace cards in a shock 2-1 defeat for Arsenal. After Gary McAlister came on right at the hour, the Millennium Stadium erupted when Robbie Fowler and Patrik Berger were introduced with 13 minutes left with Arsenal winning 1-nil. It was textbook substitutions by Houllier, but it was moving Emile Heskey onto the right flank that was to be the subtle twist in Liverpool’s cup triumph.

The entire right side locked up, with the big and powerful Heskey adding balance for McAlister and Berger adding flair to Liverpool’s poor midfield attack in the first 60 minutes. Heskey was not effective enough up top, while it seemed that Michael Owen was doing all his work on and off the ball.

It was all Arsenal as they moved more fluently around the field and Liverpool looked like a tired and beaten side after the first half. It had become obvious that changes had to be made in the 72nd minute when Arsenal broke the nil-all deadlock, and deservedly so. How many times, though, have we seen teams seemingly dominate but end up getting beat. Liverpool are a perfect example of this monster in the game; if you don’t put your chances away, you will be punished.

Up to Arsenal’s opening goal, it was not to be a classic affair at all. However, there were a couple of key moments early on that hinted the final outcome of the game. Within the first two minutes Owen collected a ball near the left side of the box as the Gunners’ left full, Lee Dixon, tried to contain him. Owen slipped past as Dixon went sprawling, seemingly losing his coordination and composure as well. Perhaps Owen could have had a go, but instead he tried to square it only for Tony Adams to clear. The big questions arose from that situation. Will Owen get in behind the Gunners’ defense on the run to the ball rather than on the ball itself? Was Owen back to his full speed or has time caught up with Dixon’s weary legs? The toughest thing the Liverpool forwards had to deal with was Arsenal’s organization at the back. It was going to take some serious magic to score against Martin Keown and Co.

After that Owen opportunity for Liverpool the final became somewhat of a cat and mouse game. Arsenal began to look the more dangerous side, with Thierry Henry looking as sharp as ever. Outside the Liverpool box he was leaving players standing as he went by them with ease. Just 15 minutes into the game Arsenal had the momentum as Liverpool had no choice but to sit in their own half.

On the 17th minute, Arsenal’s Freddie Ljungberg played a sweet pass into the path of Henry as the French forward swept into the box. A great first touch allowed Henry to escape the oncoming Liverpool keeper, Sander Westerveld, but the touch didn’t allow Henry to strike the ball into an empty net. Nonetheless, Henry kept his cool, regained control of the ball and cleverly slotted the ball homeward bound only to be denied by Stephane Henchoz’s elbow. It was a hand ball, it was a definite penalty. Even though the French forward protested, Henry knew he had missed his chance and would not get the call. For Liverpool supporters it was a letoff; for Arsenal fans it was daylight robbery. For soccer neutrals, Henry should have slotted home the second he beat the keeper. It wasn’t the first miss in the 6-yard box for Henry and Arsenal. Liverpool survived many attacks with their defense clearing the ball off the goal line after Westerveld was beaten. One could sense that missing these chances would come back to haunt Arsenal.

Owen is Houllier’s Ace

Halftime talks clearly indicated that both managers stuck with the pattern of the game. While Liverpool had the UEFA Cup Final date on their minds, a quick goal or a counter seemed to be the order of the day, or indeed holding out for as long as possible, then bringing on a last resort. Within the first five minutes of the second half Heskey latched onto a cross for David Seaman to make a great save. Arsenal settled down immediately and suddenly Liverpool looked like they were in real trouble. The Pool were obviously very tired. Arsenal were flying past their opponents.

In the 56th minute, the Gunners bombarded the Liverpool defense, but again Arsenal were denied by a goal-line clearance. For Houllier, that was it, something had to be done, a change had to be made and on came McAlister for Dietmar Hamann. The lone substitution made no difference as Arsenal continued to dominate. Eventually the Gunner’s pressure paid off in the 72nd minute with a lovely finish by Ljungberg.

Liverpool’s Westerveld did not clear the ball too well and it went straight to Arsenal’s Gilles Grimandi, who played in Pires. Ljungberg had read the situation all the way back from the bad clearance and up he popped to open the score line while rounding the keeper and sending in a superb strike against the grain. This time the last defender could not save Westerveld. That super strike had match winner written all over it, or so it seemed. Five minutes later, Houllier turned a not so classic FA Cup Final into one to the best finishes we have seen for quite some time.

On came Berger and Fowler in the 77th and the flair that was missing for Liverpool all afternoon simply appeared. It was almost magical. McAlister was intercepting balls right, left and center. He was hitting corners and frees that caused havoc for Arsenal. Heskey looked like he was impossible to knock off the ball. Fowler nearly sneaked in and Berger’s silky skills were a joy to see again, but not for Arsenal. Houllier’s substitutions were a stroke of genius and Michael Owen was to be come the trump card up his sleeve.

With seven minutes left, McAlister hit a wicked free kick into the Arsenal box. Babbel managed to get his head onto it for Owen to volley home. In the 88th minute, McAlister’s work in closing down Arsenal resulted in Berger possessing the ball inside his own half. Cracking the ball right over the top of the Arsenal defense Berger saw Owen outpace Dixon toward the goal. Owen shrugged off the defender, looked up and slotted a superb finish into the side of the goal with his left peg. It was a world-class finish, it was the instinct Owen had on the day that Henry lacked.

Michael Owen had shattered the Arsenal team into disbelief. The Arsenal faithful were stunned. Liverpool had pulled something out of the bag like they have been doing all season. Houllier had played his cards right, Owen was his ace on the day.