Cheyrou helps ease pressure on Houllier

Liverpool - 2 Newcastle Utd - 1:FA Cup fourth round: The sound rolled down, the years rolled back - and this is the competition no one cares about any more. "What an atmosphere," said the old warrior Alan Shearer. "And that," said Bobby Robson, "was after the kicking."

If the sides are still vying for fourth place in the league when they meet here again in their final match, the gods had better protect their crystals.

"We know our priorities," said Gerard Houllier - and so do his board. "But really, I'm pleased and proud."

The Liverpool manager had won a battle but lost his last excuse. All season he has pleaded the absence of key men. Michael Owen has played only half their games, Steven Gerrard two-thirds, Didi Hamann two-fifths. In defence he has often had only two or three of his favoured five available, not that they were notably more successful when selected from a full hand.

Liverpool have looked as poorly drilled in defence - and sometimes daftly deployed, as with Stephane Henchoz at full-back - as they have looked ill-directed in attack and, as Jamie Carragher said, "If you don't keep it tight you'll never win anything". Thus spoke a true Liverpool man.

But, with him and Steve Finnan enjoying second starts at full back after injury, and Henchoz reunited with Sami Hyypia in the middle, they had John Arne Riise on the bench and stability to spare. They restricted Newcastle to one clear shot in open play and that was in injury-time, a swivel and top-corner rocket from Shearer which Jerzy Dudek tipped acrobatically away.

Shearer and Owen were a study in equals and fascinating opposites, each the focus of attack with a man on his back but Owen looking for the dart to leave him cold, Shearer using years of experience to block his man out and squeeze nods, chests and taps to his midfield. Owen's acceleration is still coming back; Shearer's, nothing by comparison, went with the knees and depended on strength.

"They blunted our attack," conceded Robson. "Our penetration was poor and our second-half performance drifted. They went down the flanks better and got more crosses in."

Liverpool with width? And this was despite Harry Kewell, a devastating line-runner, being used as one of three feeders for Owen in Houllier's 4-2-3-1. Emile Heskey, another, later hamstrung, repeatedly headed on to where the second striker should have been. Do brains have hamstrings?

The game's finest tracery was worked down Newcastle's right, with Jermaine Jenas at its heart, but this was suppressed after the interval when Gerrard cranked up the momentum. The return of Jonathan Woodgate beside Andy O'Brien's heroism has given Newcastle's central defence the consistency of thick-cut marmalade after the bramble jelly of early season, but Olivier Bernard was beaten to Gerrard's cross by Bruno Cheyrou for the winner. Cheyrou has often looked like a piece from another jigsaw, but here he fitted well and was Owen's best provider.

The start was explosive, with the score 1-1 in less time than it took John Cage to think of a note. Cheyrou scored the first too, following up as Bernard and Shay Given stifled Heskey's shot. But, when Laurent Robert thundered in a 35-yard free-kick, Cage might have claimed copyright fees, but for the 6,500 Toon Army. Before kick-off hailstones rained on Anfield. This was a coal of fire from Newcastle, timed at 78 miles per hour.

It could not go on, of course, except the mind turned to those games in the 1990s here when Newcastle twice scored three and lost to four. The threat of Robert had the deterrent effect of Jonny Wilkinson. But the Frenchman had shot his bolt and his 45-yard effort was as ludicrous in conceit as it was embarrassing in execution.

The pace of a pulsating game did go on, though. In the stand facing the dug-outs, a banner was unfurled saying: "Sort it out Houllier - not good enough for LFC - no more expensive mistakes - we want the title."

Afterwards Houllier paid particular tribute to Carragher, whose challenge set up the winning goal. "Morally in the team he is something special. He embodies character."

Robson, meanwhile, wore his disappointment like a shroud. In 35 years he has never managed a win at Anfield. Outside the League Cup Newcastle have not won here in 10. He watched all their three cup wins at Wembley in the 1950s. Next year it will be 50 years since the third of them.

"It would be wonderful to win this blessed cup for Newcastle," said Robson. "I never believed it would be so long." Next year is Shearer's last too. If there is any romance . . .

Guardian Service