Now Liverpool has beaten
Blackburn Rovers in their FA Cup Sixth Round replay, they face the prospect of
a Semi-Final clash with Aston Villa. For
me, this brings back memories of our last meeting in the competition in 1996.
In a rather convenient twist of coincidence, today happens to be Robbie Fowler's birthday, so it's fitting he is remembered here.
The two were in the top
four in the League, Villa had just won the League Cup (sponsored by Coca Cola)
beating Leeds United at Wembley, replacing Liverpool as holders of the
trophy. They were two of the top sides
in the country at the time.
The other Semi-Final
kicked off earlier in the day at Villa Park where league leaders, Manchester
United beat Chelsea, 2-1 with goals from Andy Cole and David Beckham. Attention now turned to Old Trafford for the
second Semi-Final.
Liverpool and Aston Villa
were meeting for the third time in the three months. At the end of January goals from Stan
Collymore and Robbie Fowler gave Liverpool a 2-0 win at Villa Park. Five weeks later, in one of the most
pulsating starts to a Premier League match ever seen, Robbie Fowler was again
on target, twice, as he and Steve McManaman destroyed Villa within eight
minutes of the kick-off. At that stage
Villa had only been beaten twice since just before Christmas and Liverpool had
been their avengers on both occasions.
This Semi-Final was
Villa’s first since 1967, but Liverpool were at this stage for the second time
in five years and their fourth in the previous ten.
Villa, managed by former
striker Brian Little, suffered a blow in the first half when Gareth Southgate
injured a knee in a challenge with Mark Wright.
He hobbled off but responded to treatment and was able to come back on a
few minutes later. His first duty was to
defend a free-kick and that’s when Liverpool took the lead. Jamie Redknapp, playing his first match for
four months, floated the ball into the area and that man Fowler got on the end
of it, as his diving header went under Mark Bosnich. Fowler was being marked by Southgate but got
to the ball first and scored his seventh goal in just six games against Villa in
his short career and got Liverpool off to a great start.
Southgate eventually
succumbed to his injury and was replaced by former Liverpool defender, Steve
Staunton. Staunton, who won an FA Cup
winners medal with Liverpool in 1989, had, had a torrid time against Fowler in
their recent meetings but he needed to try and shore things up at the back.
The goal seemed to
galvanise Villa and they had a shout for a penalty just three minutes after
going behind. Dwight Yorke headed the
ball on for Ian Taylor to burst in between McManaman and John Scales but as
McManaman got his foot to the bouncing ball, Scales’ challenge from the other
side appeared to impede Taylor. Referee
Paul Durkin adjudged the ball the chance to have gone before Scales challenge
came in and he waved away the protests.
David James saved bravely
from close range to deny Yorke from a corner as Villa were getting the better
of the chances. Liverpool still lead at
the break and Collymore might have put the game beyond Villa’s reach just after
the re-start if Fowler’s pass had found him.
The second half was real end-to-end stuff. On the hour Villa had another great chance
when Milosevic headed down a cross and Ugo Ehiogu tried to turn the ball in
from three yards out but again James got down to smother the ball.
As the game moved into
the final quarter of an hour, Paul McGrath’s tentative backpass almost allowed
Fowler in but Bosnich managed to tackle him inside the area and the chance had
gone. Minutes later Collymore was sent
through but this time McGrath timed his tackled perfectly to deny the Liverpool
striker. Milosevic was lucky to get away
with a Beckham-style kick at Jones before Ehiogu was again denied by a crucial
block from Scales just six yards out.
As Villa struggled to
keep Liverpool out John Barnes, in a central position 25 yards from goal, bent
a shot which crashed against the upright with Bosnich beaten. There was a scramble in the Liverpool area
when James decided to come for a corner but found the ball curling away from
him and by the time he got a hand to it he was almost out of the area. Needless to say he dropped the ball and after
a frantic moment, Liverpool cleared. In
a rather surreal passage of play, at one end there was James trying to get to a
corner regardless of where the ball was going to land in the area, then when it
was cleared downfield and out of play, the opposite keeper, Bosnich, took the
resultant throw-in for Villa. Strange
breed these goalkeepers.
With four minutes to go
Liverpool then sent on the competitions record goalscorer, Ian Rush and his
first action came when Liverpool were awarded a free-kick wide on the left
about 15 yards from the bye-line.
Redknapp took it right footed and Staunton headed it away from his six
yard line and probably thought he’d cleared the danger, but Fowler, as if he’d
almost read an advance copy of the script, was waiting there to chest the ball
down and volley it left-footed in off the post.
It was his 33rd
goal of the season and his fifth against Villa this season. As Villa then pressed forward, McManaman
broke away and squared for McAteer to roll the ball into the net to complete
the scoring. Liverpool won 3-0 and
earned their eleventh FA Cup Final appearance.
Fowler had scored twice at Old Trafford back in October when Cantona
returned after his ban, and he was here again against a side who must’ve been
sick of the sight of him.
Liverpool’s dream of a
sixth FA Cup triumph came to an end when Cantona’s late goal gave Manchester
United their second double in three years.
Liverpool had prevailed
in the Semi-Final against Aston Villa playing three at the back, Wright, Scales
and Ruddock, with two wing-backs, McAteer and Jones. Wonder if they’ll play the same formation in
a few weeks’ time and get the same result?
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