Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Roy Hodgson Happy With Progress Despite Sloppy Defending In Germany

Roy Hodgson insisted Liverpool’s flying visit to Moenchengladbach was beneficial despite the day being ruined by some sloppy defending.

The Reds manager was satisfied with the efforts from a squad that was top heavy with young players and, on another day, they might have secured a credible draw.

However, a mix-up between Diego Cavalieri and Daniel Ayala meant Liverpool slipped to a 1-0 defeat but Hodgson was far from flustered after the contest at Borussia Park.

“It’s incredible to have a friendly match in front of 50,000 people,” said Hodgson.

“I thought it was quite an even game and there were not many clear-cut chances.

“Borussia, as was the case against Kaiserslautern, didn’t actually have to score a goal against us because we actually gave them one.

“It was too big a task for Academy players to perform against Borussia’s central defenders because they don’t have the strength or experience to do that yet.”

Hodgson has brought some experience back into his squad after re-signing Fabio Aurelio on Saturday night, to give him cover at left-back.

The Brazilian played the last 30 minutes of the game and is fully focused on relaunching his career at Anfield, having been released by Rafa Benitez at the end of last season.

“My aim is to help the team do better than last season,” he said. “Everything is going really well, so I think we can progress a lot. We have made some good additions and we can be very confident.”

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