Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Carra Targets Home Wins

Jamie Carragher today insisted Liverpool can take heart from their second-half performance during Sunday's 3-2 defeat at Manchester United.

Steven Gerrard's quick-fire brace saw the Reds level the scoreline at 2-2 after Dimitar Berbatov's double had put United into a two-goal lead at Old Trafford.

However, the Bulgarian headed home an 84th minute winner to secure victory for Alex Ferguson's side - a goal Carragher admits he was left disappointed with his own contribution to.

Nonetheless, though frustrated by the reversal, the vice-captain is confident Liverpool's display in the second period bodes well for the rest of the season.

"Any time you lose a big game, you are always bitterly disappointed," said Carragher.

"To come back from two goals down was a fantastic effort from the lads but I thought we did well for the 90 minutes.

"We were not really asked too many questions and there are not too many teams who can say that after going to Old Trafford.

"If you look at the goals they scored, it was similar in a way to what happened at Manchester City.

"Pepe (Reina) hasn't really had a lot to do yet we have still ended up conceding three times.

"The first was poor from a set piece, you have to hold your hands up and say the second from Berbatov was world class; he is capable of that.

"But for the third, I was really disappointed with myself. I should have done better with the challenge on him. It's the small details that count and it's so frustrating that (United) have been able to get the win.

"It's a funny situation, really. Last week, we were not happy with the performance at Birmingham but came away with a point; this week we're happy enough with the performance but have come away with nothing."

John O'Shea's 70th minute challenge on Fernando Torres on the edge of the United box, which resulted in the free-kick from which Gerrard netted his second of the afternoon, was a key talking point after the contest, with some suggesting the defender could have received a straight red card for the foul.

Carragher, though, was philosophical in his reaction to the incident, instead preferring to concentrate on the positive aspects of the Reds' spirited display.

"Those things (the O'Shea yellow card) can go either way," Carragher said.

"If he gets sent off, we would have more of a chance against 10 men but what happened has happened.

"There is still a long way to go. Though we have not started great in terms of results, there are a lot of things to take into account and this is a transitional time. But we have just got to remain positive.

"A few wins and everything will look different.

"We have got two home games coming up in the Premier League and we need to make them count.

"We've had a great start in the Europa League and we just have to make sure we keep on believing."

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