Dominic Matteo's dismissal turned a Liverpool romp into a backs-to-the-wall
battle.
The Anfield men were three up and cruising thanks to a dynamic spell seconds
before the break when they scored twice.
But when Matteo was red-carded after 64 minutes, it left Liverpool with little
option but to pack their defence and hang on.
Michael Owen's 19th goal of the season had set Liverpool up, and skipper Paul
Ince marked his 500th career game with a goal and a booking that will see him
banned in a fortnight.
Vegard Heggem also found the net, but any thought of a goal feast was ruined
by that red card. Liverpool, though, got the points and themselves back on the
winning track.
Liverpool, after an FA Cup exit and a league defeat at Coventry, knew they had
to at least start and maintain a winning run to save their season from collapse.
And they couldn't have had a better start when they scored after just nine
minutes.
Owen was put in on the right and his shot was deflected wide. Jamie Redknapp
took the corner and Ince arrived in the box for a downward header that was going
wide before Robbie Fowler's overhead effort. That shot would have sneaked in at
the far post, but Owen was on hand to smash it into the roof of the net from
inches out.
Paul Gascoigne produced a nice array of flicks and backheels to entertain the
Kop, and even cheekily chipped the ball over Ince's head before skipping round
him to retrieve the ball. But Gascoigne's pace has gone now and Ince's response
was to quickly catch his former England colleague and salvage possession again.
Boro's response was plenty of intelligent possession play from the back and in
midfield, but what was missing was the penetrative pass to open up Liverpool who
seemed happy to sit back almost like an away team trying to encourage players
onto them before hitting back on the break.
Liverpool always, however, managed to look the most dangerous and a 30th
minute run from midfield by Steve McManaman ended with a sideways pass to
Fowler, who spun to hit a low shot that Mark Schwarzer saved.
Eight minutes later Dean Gordon's cross from the left was met with a flicked
header by Mikkel Beck which David James saved well. Boro' were still very much
in it. Five minutes from the break Ince was booked for a foul on Gascoigne, his
eighth of the season and that means he will be suspended when his old club West
Ham are at Anfield in a fortnight.
Boro' were to be punished for not taking advantage of the period when they
were matching the Anfield men, and were shattered by two goals in two minutes
before the break. A minute from the break Redknapp constructed a fine move
before finding Stig Bjornebye on the left. The Norwegian's cross found fellow
countryman Heggem coming in from the right, and he lifted a superb shot into the
top corner.
Heggem clearly likes playing Boro. He scored a sensational goal - his first in
this country - in the corresponding game at the Riverside earlier in the season.
Sixty seconds later Liverpool got their third when Owen touched the ball into
Ince's path for the captain to drill the ball low past Schwarzer.
Middlesbrough, to their credit, gave it a real go after the break, and were
almost presented with a goal after 58 minutes when James' fly-kick out cannoned
back off Deane and almost crept in at the far post with the Liverpool keeper
scrambling to claw the ball away. Deane almost reached the loose ball, but
Matteo got back to make a desperate saving tackle.
But after 64 minutes Matteo was to end his involvement in the match when he
cut across Beck, who was sprinting clear, bringing the Boro' striker down a
couple of yards outside the box. Referee Peter Jones had little option but to
show the red card to the Liverpool defender.
A game that had been drifting towards a Liverpool victory now had a
injection of real spice. Liverpool were fuming with the decision, which under
the current directive left Jones with little choice even if Beck had made a real
meal of the whole thing.
Beck continued to infuriate the home fans with a succession of cameo dives and
tumbles, which Jones tolerated. McManaman and Beck clashed after 70 minutes when
the Dane's tackle angered the Real Madrid-bound winger, and both players were
lectured by Jones.
After 71 minutes Gary Pallister was booked for clattering Owen right in front
of the Kop. With 10 minutes left Gerard Houllier took off his strike force of
Owen and Fowler, maybe mindful of their England involvement next week, and
replaced them with Karlheinz Riedle and Steve Gerrard.
Five minutes from time substitute Phil Stamp fired in a rebound after Colin
Cooper's effort had hit a post, but by then it was too late to do anything about
Liverpool's first half lead and superiority.
Teams:
Liverpool: James, Heggem, Carragher, Staunton, Matteo, Bjornebye,
McManaman, Redknapp, Ince, Fowler (Riedle 81), Owen (Gerrard 81).
Subs Not Used: Song, Harkness, Friedel.
Sent Off: Matteo (64).
Booked: Ince.
Goals: Owen 9, Heggem 44, Ince 45.
Middlesbrough: Schwarzer, Cooper, Vickers, Festa (Stamp 62),
Pallister, Gordon, Mustoe, Gascoigne, Townsend (Maddison 73),
Deane, Beck.
Subs Not Used: Moore, Beresford, Stockdale.
Booked: Pallister, Mustoe.
Goals: Stamp 86.
Att: 44,384
Ref: P Jones (Loughborough).
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