Tag Archives: Kenny Dalglish

KENNY CAN’T BELIEVE REDS’ UPTON PARK WIN

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Thirty seasons ago Liverpool enjoyed a comfortable 3-1 win against table topping West Ham at Upton Park, with Michael Robinson hitting a hat trick to the disbelief of Kenny Dalglish.

Signed that summer from Brighton and Hove Albion for £200,000, Robinson had struggled to make his mark on the Liverpool side so far. He hadn’t scored in his first eight league appearances, although he had got two in a comfortable 5-0 win at Anfield over Odense Bk in the European Cup.

Whilst Robinson struggled individually, the team were also taking their time to get going under new manager Joe Fagan. They were sixth in the table and had lost two of their opening eight games. West Ham were the early pacesetters at the top and had won all four of their home games, scoring fifteen goals in the process but on this particular afternoon they were made to look ordinary by a rampant Reds side.

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Fagan made one change to the line-up, Phil Neal being recalled in place of Steve Nicol. He almost gave the Reds the lead in the eleventh minute when he hit a low shot from a corner that Phil Parkes dived to his right to save. This was Parkes’ first save of the game, with an earlier effort from Graeme Souness going well wide and an attempted headed clearance by Ray Stewart going over him but thankfully bouncing off the crossbar.

The deserved opening goal came after fifteen minutes courtesy of a huge wind assisted punt downfield by keeper Bruce Grobbelaar, the ball landing in the ‘D’ of the penalty area. As Parkes raced out of his goal to try and punch the ball clear Robinson bravely flung himself forward and headed it into the net. There was little celebration though as he fell awkwardly and had to be treated by Ronnie Moran before play resumed. 

The second came in the 25th minute after Billy Bonds had made a complete hash of a Craig Johnston cross, heading the ball high into the air. When it landed Souness cleverly backheeled it into the path of Robinson, who fired it home with his left foot from the edge of the six yard box. Liverpool were in total control with Alan Kennedy and Ian Rush both forcing Parkes into making good saves and Grobbelaar didnt make his first save until the 39th minute, when he easily held on onto Steve Whitton’s low shot.

The second half began in monsoon type conditions and Liverpool were now against the wind, but West Ham couldn’t use it to their advantage. In the 57th minute Rush took a knock and was replaced by David Hodgson, then in the 64th Craig Johnston was sent off for a second bookable offence after he had fouled Billy Bonds.

If Grobbelaar hadn’t turned Alan Devonshire’s shot round the post with his legs the Reds could have been in for an uncomfortable final quarter of the game, but with Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson in total control at the back they never looked like losing their lead despite being down to ten men.

Robinson completed his hat trick in the 74th minute after a clever ball into the box from Kenny Dalglish. After letting it bounce once, Robinson struck it on the half volley from near the penalty spot, giving Parkes no chance. He then ran with his arms raised to the celebrating Liverpool fans in the corner section of the South Bank terracing where they were gathered.

West Ham’s consolation came four minutes from time and was one of Grobbelaar’s classic mistakes. Trevor Brooking went on a good run and laid off to Alan Devonshire, who burst into the box and hit a low shot towards the right hand corner of the goal. Somehow, in trying to turn the ball around the post the Reds’ keeper instead managed to divert it under his body into the net. Although it was academic, he was still given a load of verbals from an arm waving Alan Kennedy.

In the dressing room after the game, all of the players signed the match ball with Dalglish adding ‘I don’t believe it.’ The win lifted the Reds up to fifth in the table and was the start of a four match winning sequence that would take them to the top by early November. Liverpool would eventually end the season with a third successive championship, while also adding the League Cup and European Cup, in which Robinson came on as a substitute for a tiring Dalglish in the final.

Robinson left Liverpool in December 1984 for Queens Park Rangers. This treble was half of his final total of six goals in thirty league appearances and his first team opportunities were seriously hindered by the arrival of Paul Walsh. In 1987 he joined Osasuna in Spain and has lived there ever since, carving out a successful career in punditry after he retired from playing.

When interviewed by Simon Hughes for his book Red Machine, many Reds players who played with Robinson said he was the most likely to go on and have another career in later life. Many of them have joked that he is better analysing the game than playing it and Robinson himself replied ‘I couldn’t disagree with that.’ Nobody can take away this massive contribution he made to Liverpool’s league title win that season though.

JAN’S HAT TRICK OF PENALTIES

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Steven Gerrard may have failed with his third penalty at Old Trafford but 27 years ago Jan Molby did managed to score a hat trick of penalties in a League Cup 4th round replay with Coventry.

The Reds had drawn 0-0 at Highfield Road a week earlier in front of a capacity crowd of nearly 27,000, but Anfield was less than half full for this replay, which took place on 26th November 1986. With the Reds again failing to find the net in the league against Everton on the Sunday, player manager Kenny Dalglish dropped Paul Walsh and recalled himself to the starting line-up. Ex Reds reserve keeper Steve Ogrizovic was in goal for Coventry, who also had Micky Adams and Cyrille Regis in their starting eleven.

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It took just four minutes for Liverpool to get ahead, Dalglish playing the ball into the area where Ian Rush was brought down by Steve Sedgeley. Molby stepped forward and coolly despatched the ball to Ogrizovic’s left as he dived to the right. It was the big Dane’s seventh goal of the season and the sixth from the penalty spot.

Dalglish’s decision to restore himself to the team was certainly paying dividends and he was a constant menace to Coventry’s defence in the first half. He had a shot ricochet into the keeper’s hands and then crossed dangerously for Rush, whose effort was blocked as was that of Steve Nicol who the ball had then rebounded to.  

Dalglish then had a hand in the second penalty in the 39th minute when he collected a pass from Molby before laying it back off to him. As Molby surged into the area he was blocked by Lloyd McGrath and referee George Curtis pointed to the spot. The kick was a carbon copy of he first one, Ogrizovic diving to his right but seeing the ball go to his left.

On the hour Coventry pulled one back when played the ball forward to Dave Bennett who shook off the challenge of Mark Lawrenson to fire the ball past Bruce Grobbelaar from the edge of the area. The goal was very much against the tun of play against a Reds side who had been strolling and it was enough to make the crowd nervous for a while. Coventry suddenly found some momentum and pushed the Reds into their own half, but they were unable to convert this possession into meaningful chances.

With eighteen minutes left Liverpool were given another penalty when Lawrenson played a clever ball into the path of Rush and he was bundled over by Sedgely as he got ready to shoot.  Once again, Molby stepped forward and placed the ball to Ogrizovic’s left, with the keeper diving right for the third time.

The win set up a quarter final with Everton at Goodison, where Ian Rush scored the only goal of the game. A semi final victory over Southampton followed but the Reds were then beaten 2-1 by Arsenal in the final, the first time that Ian Rush had scored for the club and ended up on the losing side.

Reds Win At Spurs to Kick Start Challenge

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In 1985-86 Liverpool bounced back from a disappointing derby defeat with a win at White Hart Lane to start off a run that would see them crowned as Champions.

With just twelve games to go Liverpool were eight points behind Everton in the title race, a 2-0 home defeat to the Blues the following week seriously denting their hopes. It wasn’t just Everton that Liverpool had to overhaul if they were to win the league. Manchester United were in five points ahead in second place while Chelsea, who were in fourth and separated from the Reds by goal difference, also had three games in hand.

In the game against Everton Bruce Grobbelaar had inexplicably allowed a low Kevin Ratcliffe shot to squirm under his body, the latest of a serious of gaffes that season. On BBC Grandstand’s Football Focus the day before the Spurs game, it was estimated that Grobbelaar’s errors had cost the Reds as many as fifteen points already that season.

It was a bitterly cold Sunday and Liverpool’s fans setting off for London did so in the knowledge that the game was sill in some doubt. However heavy sanding of the pitch managed to save the day as Spurs were desperate not to lose out on television revenue and late morning the pitch was declared fit for the 3.05pm kick off. There was now even more ground to make up, as the previous day Everton had beaten Aston Villa to open up an eleven point lead.

White Hart Lane, Spurs and English football in general were completely different propositions than now. Although they had been Everton’s main challengers for the title the previous season, Spurs were struggling in the bottom half of the table this time around and the pressure was building on manager Peter Shreeves after three successive home league defeats. The stadium too was crumbling, with three of the four stands dating from before World War II, although it was seen as somewhat modern (for the time) in that it offered both standing and seating on all four sides and was totally covered.

There was no need to worry about tickets, with all terraced areas being pay on the day and admission prices being below £3. Liverpool’s support was accommodated in just two of the four sections in the away end and they were only about half full, with the total crowd being just 16,436 in a ground that could hold close to 50,000.

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After just four minutes Liverpool were a goal down and it was again Grobbelaar who had to take responsibility. After turning Chris Waddle’s shot around the post for a corner that was taken by Glenn Hoddle, the Reds keeper jumped for the ball and palmed it goalwards, Waddle helping it over the line.  The rest of the first half was dire from the Reds, who struggled to put more than a couple of passes together on the bone hard pitch and at half time they were given a rollicking by Kenny Dalglish and Ronnie Moran.

The players came out rejuvenated for the second half and played some of their best football for some weeks. Former Reds keeper Ray Clemence made two great saves from Steve McMahon and Craig Johnston, while Jan Molby had a powerful headed bounce back off the crossbar. McMahon, returning after an injury, was dominating the midfield allowing Molby the space and vision to seek out the attackers and it was the big Dane who eventually got the equaliser in the 66th minute.  From a Johnston corner, Ronnie Whelan’s shot rebounded back to Molby who scored with a low drive from the edge of the area.

Liverpool dominated the rest of the game as the temperature remained around freezing point. McMahon hit the bar and Clemence made three good saves from Rush. As the game entered injury time, it was the home side who were whistling for the referee to blow for full time. Then in the 94th minute, Whelan played a defence splitting pass into the path of Rush, who was one on one with Clemence. He calmly stroked the ball past him into the corner of the net, sparking huge celebrations amongst the visiting fans, while Rush was mobbed by most of his teammates.

Rush told the Daily Mail after the match: ‘Bruce was the most relieved man in the ground when I scored the goal. I’m glad for him that I got the winner.’ Grobbelaar himself was honest in his assessment of the mistake that could have cost Liverpool he game, saying: ‘After all the publicity I’ve been getting it was a poor show to make a mistake like that. Fortunately the lads pulled it round for me. In the past I’ve made mistakes and they haven’t been able to do that but this time it might be quickly forgotten.’

The win was the fillip for Liverpool’s title charge. They won ten out of their next eleven fixtures and clinched the league championship on the last day of the season, when Dalglish himself scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Chelsea.