Thursday, July 14, 2011

Reds Score Four On Adam Debut

Charlie Adam made his bow as a second-half substitute as Liverpool got their pre-season tour of Asia off to a winning start courtesy of a 4-3 success over Guangdong Sunray Cave on Wednesday afternoon.

The former Blackpool midfielder showed some neat touches throughout a promising cameo as goals from Christian Poulsen, David Ngog, debutant Conor Coady and Andy Carroll gave Kenny Dalglish's side victory in front of a passionate crowd in Guangzhou.

The Reds boss was always going to use the occasion to give the majority of his squad their first run-out ahead of the 2011-12 campaign and he will have taken several positives from an encounter that began with a great chance for Danny Wilson.

The former Rangers man met Dani Pacheco's right-wing corner with a firm header from six yards out but could only watch on as it flew inches past the far post.

The hosts responded and Ricardo Steer saw his effort beaten away by Peter Gulacsi before Ngog forced Guangdong stopper Yu Yongzhe into his first save of the contest with a low shot from the left-hand side of the penalty area.

The Frenchman was looking sharp and thought he had opened the scoring with a cool finish on 15 minutes, only to see the strike ruled out for offside.

It was greeted by gasps of frustration from the local support who had packed into the stadium to witness Liverpool's first ever match on Chinese soil.

It was clear every corner of the stadium was baying to see a Reds goal in the flesh and on 19 minutes they got what they had been dreaming of in the shape of an unlikely source.

Joe Cole teased a right-wing cross to the far post where Poulsen arrived on cue to calmly stroke a volley into the far corner of the net.

It was met by a trademark grin of approval from Dalglish who was beaming again just two minutes later when some neat approach play from Cole and Jonjo Shelvey resulted in Ngog racing clear and firing a low shot into the bottom corner.

It looked like the Reds were already in cruise control and they should have been three up on 31 minutes but Pacheco stroked a side-footer the wrong side of the far post following a delicious one-two with Jay Spearing.

The purposeful Shelvey was the next Red to go close but he fired his rasping long-range drive just over the top.

The flicks and exquisite one-touch play was oozing out of the Liverpool players as they revelled in the space afforded to them and Ngog saw another clever finish correctly ruled out for offside.

The visitors had been relatively untroubled throughout the first period but Guangdong finally caused some concern when Mahamad Awal went close with a shot that fizzed across the six yard box on 44 minutes.

It was a warning Liverpool did not take heed of and just seconds later the hosts grabbed a lifeline when Ricardo rose above Gulacsi to power home a header from a pinpoint left-wing cross.

The interval brought with it the inevitable surge of substitutions as Dalglish opted to make 11 changes, including a first ever run out for youngsters Andre Wisdom and Coady, as well as new recruit, Adam.

The Scotland international's first touch wasn't bad either as he gave a glimpse of what he could offer the Reds attack this season with a raking 40 yard ball that was almost converted by Carroll.

Maxi Rodriguez then hit a shot into the side netting from a tight angle before testing Guangdong's substitute 'keeper with a powerful strike from distance.

Every player in a red shirt seemed eager to make an impression and the returning Alberto Aquilani gave a reminder of his superb technique with a range of fine passes.

As the half wore on Liverpool continued to probe for a third goal and on 74 minutes they got it when Coady latched onto Carroll's pass and sizzled a stunning finish into the corner to cap a dream debut for the highly-rated youngster.

The home side appeared to be tiring and Carroll took advantage of some slugglish defending to steer home a fourth from close range five minutes from time.

However, to their credit, the hosts never gave up and ensured they ended with a somewhat flattering scoreline courtesy of stoppage time strikes from Lu Lin and Yin Hongbo.

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