Liverpool v West Ham - as it happened

Good evening. 1963. John F. Kennedy assasinated. Dr No, the first James Bond film, screens in US cinemas. Pope John XXIII dies. Pope Paul VI succeeds him. The Great Train Robbery takes place in Buckinghamshire. Marvel Comics releases the first ever X-Men comic book. Alec Douglas-Home succeeds Harold Macmillan as Prime Minister. The Beatles' second album, With The Beatles, is released. Barcelona start their coach journey to reach Milan for their game against Inter tomorrow. And West Ham win at Anfield, beating Liverpool 2-1 thanks to goals from Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters . They haven't done it since. That's - MBMer looks to his calculator watch - 47 years. Tonight wouldn't be the worst time for the Hammers to put that particular record to rest. Fourth from bottom, they are a mere three points above Hull, who do have a game in hand. By West Ham's standards this season, they're in a rich run of form - a one-game winning streak. With Liverpool perhaps having one eye on their Europa League semi-final at Atlético Madrid on Thursday, West Ham will fancy their chances of causing something of an upset at Anfield. That said, they haven't won an away game since the first day of the season. Or at Liverpool since 1963 . Team news: Liverpool: Reina; Johnson, Carragher, Kyrgiakos, Agger; Maxi, Gerrard, Lucas, Benayoun; Kuyt, Ngog. Subs: Cavalieri, Aquilani, Babel, Mascherano, Degen, El Zhar, Ayala. West Ham: Green; Faubert, da Costa, Upson, Spector; Stanislas, Kovac, Noble, Behrami; Cole, Ilan. Subs: Kurucz, Gabbidon,Franco, Mido, McCarthy, Diamanti, Daprela. Referee: Peter Walton (Northamptonshire) So Liverpool have picked a relatively strong team despite their Europa League semi-final being just three days away. Well, Everton are only two points behind them in the table. With Fernando Torres ruled out for the rest of the season, David Ngog, who was fairly hapless in front of goal against Fulham last time out and is therefore guaranteed to score tonight, partners Dirk Kuyt in attack. Alberto Aquilani, Ryan Babel and Javier Mascherano have all been rested. As for West Ham, they are unchanged after their win over Sunderland nine days ago. Gianfranco Zola, who is really enjoying working under the two Daves, picked two strikers for West Ham's games at Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United. An admirable attacking philosophy maybe, but West Ham lost them all convincingly. Tonight it's Carlton Cole and Ilan together. Scott Parker serves the last game of a two-match suspension after collecting 10 bookings, so much responsibility for driving West Ham forward falls upon the shoulders of Mark Noble, who hasn't really progressed after his initial burst on to the scene. The worry for West Ham will be how their full-backs cope. Jonathan Spector, right-footed, has been forced to play on the left due to Herita Ilunga's chronic case of signing a permanent deal after his successful loan deal last year and Julien Faubert, the right-back, is often positionally unaware. Some pre-match emails. "I've always been a bit dubious about the impact of fans' support on players, but roaring on an away team fighting for its life (okay, maybe its Premier League wages) against a home team whose support are already preoccupied with whether it's worth forking out for another season ticket, can really make a difference," says Gary Naylor. That's true Gary, but I'd say it's easier to do so at home. The Upton Park crowd have been very good in recent weeks - too often West Ham have folded away from home this season, regardless of support. "To reprise an old Shankly story, on a day when his team had defeated The 'Ammers and sent them into the 2nd division he was asked on MOTD 'So, Bill how do you feel about such a lovely footballing club being relegated?' Inimitably he replied 'Aye son,it's a tragedy - *comic pause* - They're worth 4 points a season to us!' Now 6 of course...," parps Kevin Devereux. A somewhat odd stat that should provide some encouragement for West Ham: last season they drew 0-0 in a televised game on a Monday night at Anfield after beating Sunderland 1-0. This is my favourite story of the day. Someone please check that this chap is okay. What a brilliant display of complete and utter apathy. Liverpool's formation was initially presented as a conventional 4-4-2, but ESPN suggest that they will be lining up in Rafael Benitez's more favoured 4-2-3-1 formation, with Gerrard and Lucas holding, and Kuyt, Benayoun and Maxi supporting the lone striker, Ngog. We shall see. The latter looks more likely to me. You'll Never Walk Alone blares out over the Anfield tannoy - the West Ham fans respond with a rousing rendition of Bubbles. The teams are out, Liverpool in their red strip, West Ham in their navy away kit. We've just seen a clip of Liverpool's new chairman, Chelsea fan Martin Broughton. Oh football! What a shambles, eh? Peep! And we're off, Liverpool getting us underway and kicking from right to left, meaning that they will be attacking towards The Kop in the second half. The ball is pumped forward by Daniel Agger and Jonathan Spector clears the ball, leading to a spell of Liverpool passing at the back. 1 min: Patient play by Liverpool is brought to an end again by Spector as he buys a throw off Glen Johnson deep in West Ham's half. It's been a very slow start, with Liverpool enjoying most of the ball and West Ham happy to sit and take the point already. 3 min: Liverpool have the first shot in anger of the night. After some scrappy play in the middle of West Ham's half, the ball spurts clear for Yossi Benayoun, who slips a pass to Maxi on the right side of West Ham's area. With Spector in close attendance, the Argentinian's fierce shot from a tight angle is held at the second attempt by Robert Green at his near post. 5 min: West Ham get into Liverpool's half for the first time, but Julien Faubert's intended cross towards Carlton Cole is a good idea poorly carried out, and the ball skews harmlessly into Pepe Reina's gloves. 6 min: That was a good chance for Liverpool. A simple, long punt forward from the back from Liverpool catches West Ham's defence very square, but David Ngog, through on goal, is unable to take the ball out of the sky, heading it on for Robert Green to collect gratefully. 7 min: After Valon Behrami's foul on Maxi on the right, Green rushes off his line to try to punch away Gerrard's free-kick - but the goalkeeper flaps at it, and is lucky that Kuyt and Kyrgiakos were unable to get anything on it. And that they were offside, in all fairness. 10 min: This has been a depressingly slow start by both teams. West Ham will be delighted with a point and their mentality reflects as such, while Liverpool without Fernando Torres are not exactly the most fluid of sides. 12 min: "Amusingly at the top of that article on Plymouth is an advert for sky asking 'which team has the most passionate fans?' It's clearly not Argyle's green army," says Ben Ellis. Er, the answer is obviously Newcastle. 13 min: Steven Gerrard, with very little pressure on him, plays a simple five-yard pass straight into touch. And we wonder why England always struggle against the likes of Portugal and Spain. 14 min: Manuel Da Costa concedes the first corner of the day, and Gerrard's delivery, deflected at the near post, loops up for Ngog at the far post. With Radoslav Kovac near by and from a difficult position, the Frenchman tries to direct the ball on target with little success. He should have just attempted to head the ball back across goal. Football's all about decisions, so on, so on. 16 min: I know West Ham would take the point, but would Liverpool? Fourth place is surely slipping away from them and they do have that big night on Channel Five to think about... 17 min: A swift and slick counter-attack led by Ilan for West Ham comes to a disappointing end when Junior Stanislas, with time and space just outside Liverpool's area, plays the ball behind three supporting team-mates. That was abject from the youngster, just when West Ham were building their most promising move so far. GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 West Ham (Yossi Benayoun, 19 min) West Ham concede the sloppiest of goals and that is the story of their season. Gerrard's low free-kick from the right catches out West Ham's defence, who were trying to play offside, and the unmarked Benayoun steals in to guide the ball in off the far post with his chest - and not his arm. West Ham's miserable run at Anfield looks like continuing. 21 min: Nearly an instant response from West Ham. Carlton Cole, who has been anonymous, cuts in from the left and unleashes a fierce right-footed shot which Pepe Reina, flying across his goal, does excellently to hold. 23 min: I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that Junior Stanislas should be able to beat the first man with a corner before he can justify wearing yellow boots. 24 min: Stanislas's free-kick from the right is headed away by Kyrgiakos, only for Kuyt to concede another immediately afterwards with a trip on Behrami. This time it's on the left and a little closer to goal, but Stanislas wafts his effort well over Pepe Reina's near post. 26 min: "Wow, do you think Benayouns reserved and modest goal celebration was due to him having played for West Ham, or that he scored using his hand?" asks Jenny Fairley. The former Jenny. He's being mercilessly booed every time he gets the ball by the West Ham fans. 27 min: From another Gerrard corner, it should have 2-0 - and game over. His delivery from the right is missed by Da Costa and finds Krygiakos, again completely unmarked and five yards out, but the Greek defender sends his header down into the ground and up over the bar. West Ham's defending from set-pieces has been absolutely atrocious. Dismal, dismal stuff. GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 West Ham (David Ngog, 29 min) Again Benayoun is at the hub of a dangerous Liverpool move, spreading the ball wide to the right for Maxi. With Spector deciding not to close the midfielder down, he is free to whip the ball into the near post where Ngog gets in front of Matthew Upson to sweep in a shot that was too powerful for Green to hold. This could become very ugly for West Ham. 32 min: "Did the walkout happen 20 minutes in? asks Sunjay Malik. "There was talk earlier of an exit, protest against the Yanks and that." Well there are a few empty seats around Anfield but I'm unaware of any walkout... 34 min: Carlton Cole has Liverpool worried for a moment with a threatening run at the heart of their defence, but he spoils it all with a feeble left-footed shot that dribbles well wide of Reina's goal. 37 min: I've had a charming email from a Mr Mike Ormsby. "Your comments so far suggest you may be Glendenning's love-child. To whit: 1) A snide dig about the Europa League, 2) Fulsome praise for West Ham's 'rousing' version of Bubbles, while YNWA merely came 'over the tannoys' (so, the Kop did not sing it and it was not louder than 'Bubbles'?) 3) A dig at Stevie G, whom no club in the world wants to buy. 4) No mention from you of Yossi's hand until Jenny planted it in your tiny head, whereupon you agree. All this is the first 25 minutes. Call yourself a journalist?" Oh no! The big bad Guardian man said something mean about my club. Secondly Bubbles was louder. I forgot you aren't allowed to criticise Steven Gerrard. And actually I pointed out in my description of the goal that it came off Benayoun's chest. Call yourself literate? 38 min: Liverpool could have had a penalty there, with Stanislas appearing to handle the ball under pressure from Gerrard but Peter Walton waves away the appeals. He does, however, award a free-kick a few seconds later. It's a good position for Gerrard, in the middle of the goal and just outside the area, but his effort drifts a couple of yards too high. A decent effort. 41 min: "Do you really have a calculator-watch?" asks John McLauchlin. "That's bad-a$$." No. 42 min: From Da Costa's clearing header, Kuyt hits a left-footed half volley from 25 yards out which forces a sprawling save out of Green. Nothing comes from Gerrard's corner. 44 min: This match is very formulaic. Probe, probe, probe, probe, probe, probe from Liverpool. Two goals. Probe, probe, probe. West Ham get the ball. Da Costa hoofs it forward. Liverpool instantly win the ball back, and we start again. West Ham have been dreadful, Liverpool have done what they need to do. 45 min: There will be one minute of the added stuff. Peep, peep! Peter Walton brings an end to an exceedingly simple first half for Liverpool. Two goals in front, this game is surely over and could turn into something of a nightmare for West Ham if they aren't careful. Liverpool struggled without the threat of Torres at first, but Benayoun's opener lifted the tension and since then they could well have added more than just Ngog's well-taken strike. Half-time emails: "Your reply of no to the statement that a calculator watch is bad a$$," says dave Hill. "Is the response for no- you don't have one or no-it's not bad a$$?" I must clarify the situation - no, I don't really have one. I lied, okay? But it is bad a$$. More people should wear them. "As I sit in the Hollywood hills on what is a pristine spring day, pure azure skies and nota cloud in sight, I reflect on how wonderful a week it has been for we spurs fans. To think a Liverpool win will give them hope and iron in their souls to see of the upstart man c , while west ham will have to win in the final game at eastlands. Oh what joy it is to see it all unfold. 4th spot will be sewn up long before then tho. Actually I'm just killing time while I wait for new tyres on the old Volvo 240," boasts Michael Aston. "There's a very simple rule to this "game over" nonsense at 2-0 that both you and your colleague Rob Smyth at the Wigan-Arsenal game neglected," says Kevin Porter. "Namely is the current scoreline to Wolves advantage? No - Game Over, Yes - Game far from Over." Kevin, I've seen enough of West Ham to know that when they are two goals down at Anfield, it is very much game over. The next 45 minutes will be a case of how many for Liverpool. "Is this even a real game any more?" asks Kevin Shields, somewhat philosophically. "You said it, Liverpool is handling this more like a math problem than a football match. West Ham seems like they're just trying to minimize the damage at this point, seems like a reminder that despite all of the crap, Liverpool is still a pretty top notch club." Newcastle are leading 2-0 at Plymouth by the way. They'll win the Championship title tonight as it is. Poor old Plymouth . "It seems to me that if certain Guardian emailers were half as well able to remember their wife's birthday, as they are able to remember which Guardian journalist once criticised a team/player/set piece/rendition of club song they happen to like, they wouldn't be so furiously angry about everything," says Ed Bayling. And we're off again and West Ham have made a change, the lamentable Junior Stanislas replaced by the Mexican forward Guillermo Franco. I expect Franco will go up front, Ilan to the left and Behrami to the right. West Ham, kicking from right to left, get us back underway. And we're back in the same routine, Liverpool easily dealing with aimless West Ham punts forward. 47 min: "The fact you don't have a calculator watch but lied about it is bad a$$ and a little sad‏," says Luke Crane. The fact most people are emailing me about a mythical calculator watch says a lot about this game. 48 min: Franco nearly had an instant impact there. Cole's looped pass played him in behind the Liverpool defence on the right side of the area, but the ball wouldn't come down for him, allowing Reina, who was quick off his line as usual, to pat it clear. 49 min: Noble's trip on Glen Johnson presents Gerrard with another chance to cross from the right - but the Liverpool captain tried to aim the ball in at the near post. Luckily for West Ham, the wall did its job, deflecting the ball out for a corner. West Ham eventually get it clear. 51 min: Kuyt tees the ball ball up for Daniel Agger, who can hit them, but his fierce effort struck Ngog and rebounded away. It was going out for a goal-kick anyway though. 53 min: Spector's stumble allows Kuyt to escape to the right-hand byline, but the Dutchman's low cross is well collected by Green at his near post. It was the wrong ball, with Gerrard waiting further back inside the area. 54 min: More on the calculator watch. "If the e-mails keep coming up about the watch, you could become the Guardian's version of Arthur "two sheds" Jackson. Jacob "Bad-A$$ Watch" Steinberg," writes Dave Hill. 55 min: "Why Maxi not Rodriguez? To those of us born in er... 1963, Maxi means a slow crappy car or an ugly long dress. And Maxi is neither slow nor ugly... oh hang on," says Gary Naylor. Honestly? Maxi is shorter. 57 min: Benayoun's jinking run down the left twists Julien Faubert this way and that, before the Israeli lays the ball off for Lucas, whose effort from 25 yards out is well hit, but sadly too high. GOAL! Liverpool 3-0 West Ham (Robert Green OG, 59 min) I told you all it was game over. And you all doubted me. Fools. Anyway it's another soft goal from another Gerrard set piece. This one, after Noble fouled Kuyt, came from the left. Gerrard's inswinger had pace and swerve about it and went all the way to the far post, where Matthew Upson allowed Sotirios Kyrgiakos to poke the ball against the post from close range. Unfortunately for the luckless Green, the ball rebounded back off his leg and nestled in the back of the net. 62 min: Liverpool are rampant. Maxi Rodriguez and Kuyt combine well down the right to create a chance for Gerrard eight yards from goal. A fourth looked inevitable, but an excellent block from Upson denied Gerrard. 64 min: Liverpool have all the time they could possibly wish for to fashion chance after chance. Now Gerrard, easily getting away from West Ham's pedestrian midfield, slides the ball through for Benayoun but Green is quick off his line to smother the chance. 65 min: Radoslav Kovac is booked by Peter Walton for a push on the referee. Well, I say a push. He put his hand on Walton's shoulder to get his attention. 67 min: Pepe Reina, who has had absolutely nothing to do, proves he is still awake by denying Carlton Cole scoring what would have been no more than a consolation for West Ham with a dinked effort. Cole was set clear by Franco, who has been good for West Ham since coming on - although he was a yard offside. 68 min: If you don't laugh... West Ham's fans are currently performing a few choruses of the Hokey Cokey. That'll show those Plymouth fans. 71 min: Liverpool are currently playing against 11 training cones. 72 min: With the semi-final against Atlético Madrid to come on Thursday, Rafael Benitez replaces Steven Gerrard with Javier Mascherano. In response, West Ham perform an exercise in futility by sending on Benni McCarthy for Carlton Cole. 73 min: After a bit of head tennis in the West Ham area, Agger's right-footed shot from the edge of the area sails high into The Kop. 74 min: "Talk on the radio that the empty seats may be due to the lack of Liverpool fans who normally fly in from Ireland and Scandanavia... plausible?" asks Robin Barwick. Possibly. I don't know. Maybe. You might have annoyed a few people with that email. 75 min: A worrying sight for West Ham - Carlton Cole is sitting on the bench with an ice pack on his knee. With a huge game against Wigan to come on Saturday, that is the last thing Gianfranco Zola could do with now. 77 min: That can't be true dep't: There are only 37,000 people at Anfield tonight, which means the stadium has 6,000 empty seats. To be fair, West Ham's players have 11 empty heads. 79 min: Liverpool nearly score a fourth. Daniel Agger tried to flick Maxi's corner from the left goalwards but saw his effort cleared back to Maxi. With everyone in the box waiting for a cross, Maxi's ingenuity sees him curl the ball towards Robert Green's near post, but the goalkeeper was alert enough to parry the shot. With Ngog lurking, Green dives on the ball to stop West Ham's humiliation getting even worse. 81 min: I had a few technical problems just now, which meant I couldn't report both teams make their final substitutions. Liverpool brought on Phillip Degen and Ryan Babel for Yossi Benayoun and David Ngog. West Ham took off Jonathan Spector and brought on the young left-back Fabio Daprela. 83 min: Ryan Babel's first contribution is a decent cross from the right which is attacked by Dirk Kuyt. Da Costa stopped him getting a header in on goal and as the ball looped up, Kuyt's overhead kick goes high and wide. 85 min: "Does your bad a$$ pretend calculator watch have a stopwatch and alarm?" asks Luke Crane. "Is it black? I bet it's black isn't it?‏" David Cameron met a black man. In Plymouth. I wonder if he was one of the 14. 86 min: They say it's never until it's over, but that's just not true is it? West Ham could not have expected to pick up anything tonight, but the lack of fight has been alarming. This has been the perfect warm-up for Liverpool ahead of Thursday night on Channel 5. 88 min: Oddly Carlton Cole had an ice pack on his left knee and now it's on his right. He must have really bad knees. Yours, Dr Steinberg. 89 min: Newcastle have won the Championship after beating Plymouth 2-0. I doubt any Newcastle fans are reading this, but if they are, congratulations. 90 min: Maxi bursts into the West Ham area but is denied his first Liverpool goal by a strong block from Mark Noble. Up the other end, Kovac's long-range effort goes a few yards wide. West Ham had a shot there! Well done to all concerned. There will be a minimum of three minutes of added time. 90 min +2: Ryan Babel on for David N'Gog: an embarrassment of riches. The only reason I'm still watching the game is for Chris Waddle's commentary," says Roman Johnson. Is that sarcasm? I think that's sarcasm. 90 min +3: Babel cuts inside from the right and unleashes a shot that is deflected out for the corner. Degen takes it, and Philip Walton blows for full time. Post-match thoughts: Well that was thudderingly simple for Liverpool, who move back up to sixth, five points behind fourth-placed Tottenham. They can't have had an easier game than that all season against obliging opponents. Liverpool's thoughts now turn to their semi-final against Atlético Madrid on Thursday having had the least testing of warm-ups possible. As for West Ham, there is only the dank struggle of a relegation battle for them to think about. They were dreadful. If your overriding ambition is to escape with a point, then it would be beneficial to defend set-pieces properly. They play Wigan at Upton Park on Saturday. Nothing but a win will do. Thanks for all your emails, they were bad a$$. Good night.