We were in there at the end fighting, well done lads but result as expected.
Bring on Newcastle.
I'm not sure what to make of the whole thing to be honest, but nobody disgraced themselves and Sky got the final they would have been desperate for.
I am going to sleep on it.
We just don't have the overall quality and squad depth that they have. They were the better team tonight and ought to have made more of their good positions. Not too many good performances from us, probably Tosin and Willian stood out, Cairney did well in the 2nd half.
Result as expected but we were in there fighting at the end, well done lads.
Bring on Newcastle
As I wrote on the transfer thread, the club really needed to make a signing before this tie to give us a chance (how often are we in a major semi final???), but that didn't happen and I honestly didn't see us going through.
The one that got away. We could have won both games... could have lost both by several goals too.
Hat trick?
I thought we looked nervous in the beginning. A bulldog like Reed in the middle would have been nice and maybe bring Cairney in around 60 in the second half. He was decent but we were awful for the first 25.
I thought BDR looked second best all night and he was really lightweight in all his challenges. Him and Pereira are both very light and get brushed off the ball easily.
Willian is class and he brings so much calm to the team. I can't help but thinking that having Mitro in the team could have done wonders. Raul got no service and Liverpool were the better team for 70 minutes.
No matter what people say about Palhinha is that he can run for all day and his his all. He comes alive the longer the match goes on.
You can't defend Liverpool, so you have to go into a shoot-out with them. Think Marco's conservative tactics lasted too long and subs came in too late.
We should've just started with two up top to begin with. People wonder why Jimenez has to drift wide it's because he's the lone forward against two mammoth center-backs, so he has to occupy half-spaces to hold up the ball just so he can drag at least one of those defenders. Two forwards would have at least given us more advanced points to work off of. We were getting run over in the central midfield anyway once Andreas was bypassed.
Good effort in the end, just too little too late. So tired of Liverpool, but Newcastle next is not much better.
You have to beat the best to win trophies. We came close against a really good team, but that's ultimately the difference between them and us. That's not to our discredit, as the fact that we're in this position shows massive improvement over just a few years.
Well played boys, heads up and try again with the FA cup.
It seemed to me like our players lacked belief before Diop scored. After that, we really put Liverpool under pressure and could have got another goal.
Castagne the main culprit for me, for the Liverpool goal. He seemed shaky defensively throughout as well. I think he's better than that, but as I said in the lineup thread, and in the match thread, Tete should havr started this match. His skillset is much better suited for a game like this. Better crosser of the ball and better defensively. We were never going to dominate possesion, so playing Castagne whose build-up play is his main attribute wasn't the way to go, in my opinion.
I would have kept Andreas and Cairney on, and made a straight swap Muniz for Raul, but I can see what Marco wanted.
Dissapointing result in the end, and it feels like a good opportunity wasted, but hopefully we can go far in the FA cup now, and a top half finish in the league.
There's a real frustrating lack if urgency and quality from the team together. Just a bit chaotic and disjointed. Frustrating as one goal so late on has given such a tangible possibility of getting something from the game. Perhaps the occasion got to the players? Ott on the build up and chat pre game. Will have to go again next year, and hopefully having strengthened the squad further. We missed bassey and iwobi tonight.
I can't help but feel team wise we may have got it wrong.. feel tete is more dynamic than castagne, also feel he has had a better understanding with BDR which was on another level last season.. feel that fluidity would've been great.
Disappointed with the defence and Reed late on, with so many passes aimlessly played conservatively when what we were crying out was more direct and forward passes. Took so much energy out of the game, which is what the sky commentators are picking up on now.
Silva got it wrong with the subs taking off Cairney Killed any momentum we had. After scoring he should have waited for at least 5 mins even though he had got them prepped to come on. Tete for Castagne I get but taking off Cairney for Muniz who has been poor all season and Pereira for Reed who doesn't create anything other than a stink was totally wrong
It was a really tepid, shaky performance for 75 minutes and then we scored and Liverpool was rocking and then Marco's subs absolutely killed the match off.
You can say we lost 3-2 agg to a massive club and be somewhat proud, but you can also walk away disappointed from letting a big opportunity pass somewhat cheaply and nowhere near our best from minutes 61-165 of the tie.
If only we started like we finished. We just don't have the quality and depth. Credit to all of the players. They gave everything. Disappointed, but not devastated. Our time will come
On reflection tonight, I feel:
Leno is human and made a mistake. Probably related to the occasion.
Tete is the better RB over Castagna. He has shown against top teams to rise to the occasion (recall win V Chelsea where he completely dominated Mudyrk). Nonetheless, for his first season Castagna is an excellent back up utility full back.
Palhinha, while one of our better players clearly, is not as critical to our team as we all believe. If he wants to go, and we can't persuade him to say, then let the hard-working Reed take his place. We needed Palhinha to step up tonight in a big game and show us why he's supposedly worth so much money. He was one of our weaker players this evening.
I think it's becoming evident that the reason Silva is managing mid tabled teams rather than eg the Liverpools of this world is because of his mid-game decisions. I've seen too many games this season where his subs prove to be wrong and significantly delayed.
I want to finish by saying that I think this season Silva has still done tremendously well given everything. The fact we've got to a semi final of the cup, that we will likely stay up for another season.
I'm yet to reach a verdict on our transfer team. Part of me thinks we should've signed a new striker since Mitrovic left.. but part of me also points to Iwobi as a good signing and reality checks that top Prem strikers don't grow on trees.
Oh hang on, apologies, I've not quite finished.. Willian is a world class player.
My thoughts are, Castagne is a good defender but not as good as Tete. If Tete started today they wouldn't have scored the first goal. Nothing again Castagne at all, I think he's decent and could actually play further forward for us with Tete.
I wouldn't have taken Cairney off, he was starting to dictate the play, and I wouldn't have taken Andreas off who was starting to get into the game.
We need a few new players, wide forwards and a Mitrovic replacement. We really aren't far off from from seriously competing. Don't forget we had some key players on international duty which hurt us today.
All in all I'm proud of what we achieved in the cup and make no mistake this is an achievement
The fact is this isn't a great Fulham side. We are inconsistent and struggling at times in the league. We have if anything done better than most of us would have thought with a squad of one striker who was bought in as a back up. No doubt there will be discussions about subs and the impact Wilson made when he came on. But once the error happened so early. This is not the side that came back against Juventus. This is an iffy side full of mistakes but who can have flashes of skill and brilliance. The fact we came so close against Liverpool can be something to be proud of whatever some say.
However it was never really in doubt with the way we played for most of the game. Still a semi final and survival will be a good thing if it happens this season. With this squad and missing the African cup players. It seems that fate and luck just is never on our side in semi finals.
We go again and now take it out against Newcastle on Saturday night. Silver has to start Wilson ahead of BDR for sure. BDR is not up to prem standard and is not a game changer which Wilson is. BDR has served Fulham well but the time has come to move him aside.
Next season hopefully Stansfield will be first choice, Wilson back up and BDR moved on
Quote from: Milo on January 24, 2024, 10:35:32 PMOn reflection tonight, I feel:
Leno is human and made a mistake. Probably related to the occasion.
Tete is the better RB over Castagna. He has shown against top teams to rise to the occasion (recall win V Chelsea where he completely dominated Mudyrk). Nonetheless, for his first season Castagna is an excellent back up utility full back.
Palhinha, while one of our better players clearly, is not as critical to our team as we all believe. If he wants to go, and we can't persuade him to say, then let the hard-working Reed take his place. We needed Palhinha to step up tonight in a big game and show us why he's supposedly worth so much money. He was one of our weaker players this evening.
I think it's becoming evident that the reason Silva is managing mid tabled teams rather than eg the Liverpools of this world is because of his mid-game decisions. I've seen too many games this season where his subs prove to be wrong and significantly delayed.
I want to finish by saying that I think this season Silva has still done tremendously well given everything. The fact we've got to a semi final of the cup, that we will likely stay up for another season.
I'm yet to reach a verdict on our transfer team. Part of me thinks we should've signed a new striker since Mitrovic left.. but part of me also points to Iwobi as a good signing and reality checks that top Prem strikers don't grow on trees.
Oh hang on, apologies, I've not quite finished.. Willian is a world class player.
Think harsh on Leno, the ball took a deflection on its way to him. It was close enough range for that to throw you as a keeper. I think where it went wrong was before that with Castagne and how he initially challenged Luiz for the ball, which was wrong on a number of levels. Didn't dominate, wasn't on the right side of Luiz when he went for the ball. Once Luiz won it he had a clear run in on goal and castagne was left for dust. As someone else said, don't think that'd have happened with Tete at Rb at the time.
Frustrating small things make huge differences.
Quote from: Somerset Fulham on January 24, 2024, 10:06:34 PMI'm not sure what to make of the whole thing to be honest, but nobody disgraced themselves and Sky got the final they would have been desperate for.
I am going to sleep on it.
My thoughts exactly
It was disappointing but let's be honest, if this were a league match we'd be delighted with a point. ::scarf::
I felt we had lost the tie in the first leg, a Liverpool under pressure to win as favourites in front of the Kop and they were there to be beaten. But DeCordova-Reid failed so badly twice even Sky's build up to today's match remembered it. Yet Silva picks him to start!??!
Wilson should have started, that was obvious, even to the match pundits who said it's MASSIVE playing against one's old club. And he showed it when he came on.
We just got momentum when Silva subbed Tom Cairney. He angrily took off his armband and we lost that momentum. I think Silva has either a mental block or a personal issue with this skillful playmaker Fulham are fortunate to have.
After Cairney went off 'Pool found it easy to see out the game.
Was the best crowd atmosphere I have witnessed and the fans played their part, while the players let us down in the first half with negative slowing the match down with this boring goalie to defenders time wasting when we were 0-2 down - didn't make any sense.
So many sloppy passes, Robinson was culpable so many times. Silva is a guilty as the players but we failed fair and square even though the officials started to err on Liverpool's side towards the end.
A good performance overall, but ultimately frustrating. Conceding that first goal was gutting considering we'd started off pretty positively, and it knocked our confidence and momentum for the rest of the first half.
After Diop's goal, I really thought we might get something from the game, but MS's substitutions baffled me a bit. It was almost as though he thought we were 3-2 up, not 2-3 down. Taking Cairney and Andreas off for Reed and Muniz was never going to win the game for us.
Still, overall I was very pleased with the effort the players put in. When you think of where we are now, regularly going toe to toe with the league leaders and only narrowly losing, it shows the huge progress we've made under Marco Silva.
Shame we didn't make the final, but I'm proud of how we played.
Proud of the lads tonight, they gave everything. Liverpool's players are a different level.
From where I sit by the dugout, I couldn't see many fans celebrating in P1, 2 & 3 when we scored so I'm guessing it was full of away fans?
Something just occurred to me, they gave most of us white flags to wave... that's just surrendering. Why not make them black and white?
For once I'm going to quote Parker, "it's about them fine margins". We came close to getting more goals and conceded two due to deflections.
We didn't really play our game until we scored.
If we could have got our goal earlier... but we will never know...
Great after we scored... but needed another 15-20 mins to hope for another goal...
Well done chaps..
COYW
Watched on tv, we were in this semi for both legs but it is clear we lack squad quality. I think also you need luck to win a cup and they had two deflected goals overall.
Better league cup run this season though !
Thought the first half lacklustre and sloppy. Second half was much better.
I know others disagree but I still think that the penalty in the first game was a dive.
TC was fouled I counted 5 times and not a single yellow for a Liverpool player. We did well Semi-Finals of a cup 1st time in our history. I hope now we take it seriously season in season out.
After that early rather soft goal we had to avoid conceding a second as they were very quick on the break. I thought we played as well as we could given who we were up against. In the closing stages we needed a break like the one for them with that deflected shot up at Anfield.
Just like 1958, 1962, and 2002, in being bloody painful. ::scarf::
Why couldn't we have drawn Boro?
Three times we have played Liverpool this season and each time run them close.
Bring on Newcastle I want revenge for that 4-5 Cup defeat in 1956.
What is with the sports bloke on GB News? After the 4-3 loss at Anfield he gave this as 3-2 and this morning Liverpool won 2-1 on aggregate. Mind you his best one was informing that in one Euro game Man City were 0-2 down at half time but came back to win 3-0.
Overarching feelings were one of pride and sadness. But today I feel more proud of the team and can reflect on what was a special night at the cottage. Atmosphere at times was electric and felt very connected to everyone in the ground.
Concerning the game, first half we were not at it. It's alright to be outplayed, but we were second best in the tackles, recovery runs, etc. I was hoping for a bit more aggression in our play, but can understand that many of the players were probably quite nervous.
I don't think people give Liverpool enough credit. They are simply a very, very good team. They make it look very easy at time. Always creating space for each other and always seem to have an extra man across the pitch. Every defensive header from VVD fell to Liverpool player. It's small details like that which do set apart the good from the great.
Standouts for me were Willian and Raul. Both gave 100% and provided quality.
I was disappointed with Robinson, Reid and Pereira. As a 10, pereira was far too absent for me. But I am not going to jump on players, as on their day, they are all quality and have been great servants to us, especially Bobby.
We are still in the FA cup and have the league to focus on. It's a privilege to get to semi final of a cup and proud that we got there. Still a lot to play for this season and hopefully we can build on it on the next.
Quote from: General on January 24, 2024, 10:39:20 PMI think where it went wrong was before that with Castagne and how he initially challenged Luiz for the ball, which was wrong on a number of levels. Didn't dominate, wasn't on the right side of Luiz when he went for the ball. Once Luiz won it he had a clear run in on goal and castagne was left for dust. As someone else said, don't think that'd have happened with Tete at Rb at the time.
While I would have preferred Silva to have started Tete, I think your criticism of Castagne is somewhat unfair.
Firstly, I think it has to be recognised the pass, itself, was perfect. If the ball drops a yard shorter or is a yard higher, Diaz, in my opinion, almost certainly doesn't take Castagne out of the game with one touch. I think Castagne's position at the moment of the pass is reasonable. It's not clear to me what you mean when you claim he was on the wrong side because it wouldn't make sense, surely, to suggest he should have be touchline-side of Diaz.
Interestingly, Silva, in his post-match interview on the offal, seemingly sees the shortcoming for the goal differently:
"And Liverpool scored in a moment that we have to defend much better on our right hand side – a big diagonal from them, first challenge our central defence should be closer in that moment to cover our full-back, and we were not able to do it in the best way..."Having re-watched the goal, I agree. As Castagne moves towards the touchline in his attempt to prevent the pass reaching Diaz, so Tosin ought to be moving across to maintain the gap between himself and Timothy, rather than go straight towards Leno. If Tosin had done so, the 'clear run in on goal' would have been less so: Tosin would (and should) have been in a position to confront Diaz nearer the edge of the penalty area.
Quote from: bog on January 25, 2024, 09:14:10 AMAfter that early rather soft goal we had to avoid conceding a second as they were very quick on the break. I thought we played as well as we could given who we were up against. In the closing stages we needed a break like the one for them with that deflected shot up at Anfield.
Just like 1958, 1962, and 2002, in being bloody painful. ::scarf::
Why couldn't we have drawn Boro?
Three times we have played Liverpool this season and each time run them close.
Bring on Newcastle I want revenge for that 4-5 Cup defeat in 1956.
What is with the sports bloke on GB News? After the 4-3 loss at Anfield he gave this as 3-2 and this morning Liverpool won 2-1 on aggregate. Mind you his best one was informing that in one Euro game Man City were 0-2 down at half time but came back to win 3-0.
ExactlY BOG. You forgot the disappointment of 75 though. I saw all those games live - 56 onwards except the 2002 one.
To get the results that we did in TWO matches against Liverpool is not bad. The next few league games are important and winnable. Another back to back 5-0 will do just fine. ::wine::
Quote from: Arthur on January 25, 2024, 09:39:37 AMQuote from: General on January 24, 2024, 10:39:20 PMI think where it went wrong was before that with Castagne and how he initially challenged Luiz for the ball, which was wrong on a number of levels. Didn't dominate, wasn't on the right side of Luiz when he went for the ball. Once Luiz won it he had a clear run in on goal and castagne was left for dust. As someone else said, don't think that'd have happened with Tete at Rb at the time.
While I would have preferred Silva to have started Tete, I think your criticism of Castagne is somewhat unfair.
Firstly, I think it has to be recognised the pass, itself, was perfect. If the ball drops a yard shorter or is a yard higher, Diaz, in my opinion, almost certainly doesn't take Castagne out of the game with one touch. I think Castagne's position at the moment of the pass is reasonable. It's not clear to me what you mean when you claim he was on the wrong side because it wouldn't make sense, surely, to suggest he should have be touchline-side of Diaz.
Interestingly, Silva, in his post-match interview on the offal, seemingly sees the shortcoming for the goal differently:
"And Liverpool scored in a moment that we have to defend much better on our right hand side – a big diagonal from them, first challenge our central defence should be closer in that moment to cover our full-back, and we were not able to do it in the best way..."
Having re-watched the goal, I agree. As Castagne moves towards the touchline in his attempt to prevent the pass reaching Diaz, so Tosin ought to be moving across to maintain the gap between himself and Timothy, rather than go straight towards Leno. If Tosin had done so, the 'clear run in on goal' would have been less so: Tosin would (and should) have been in a position to confront Diaz nearer the edge of the penalty area.
This is a much better assessment of the issue with their goal. Castagne doesn't cover himself in glory but then there is a second when we move towards Diaz but stop ,hesitate , and in that moment lose the chance to block Diaz ( it may have failed of course ). Then the shot is deflected and squirms past Leno.
It's always possible to see failings in 99% of goals and this was a series of minor errors that sadly proved decisive on the night.
The good news is that we did eventually get our act together and everyone gave it their all . Over the two legs we deserved the game to go to extra time - we were that close .
I would say for a semi final 2nd leg performance it was overall poor. Only player I would say who offered us a glimmer was Harry Wilson when he came on. Manager like the team last night a distance 2nd best. Hard one to take when we played so well in the 1rst leg to give us the opportunity let alone the league game there. One obvious issue when chasing the game or looking for goal/s is the alternatives up front?
Quote from: jarv on January 25, 2024, 09:56:00 AMTo get the results that we did in TWO matches against Liverpool is not bad. The next few league games are important and winnable. Another back to back 5-0 will do just fine. ::wine::
The FA Cup game is the most important, which happens to be the next one.
It's all on the day, no second chance.
The League games will take care of themselves, after all there are 38 of them.
If I'm honest, I'm a bit indifferent to this for once. Proud of the lads for giving it a good go but personally, I expected us to lose over two legs. Only disappointment is, like last season with United, when things with injuries go our way, we fail to really capitalise on it but it is what it is.
I expected us to give it a good go and we certainly did that. It's a bit of a wasted opportunity but getting to quarter finals and semi finals of these competitions whilst maintaining survival is a big win in my book personally. Maybe I'm a lesser supporter for this but I don't expect to win trophies but I do expect effort and courage, of which the players showed plenty so really, I can't complain. ::wine::
I really think it's time to give well supported teams more of the Putney End, having so many away fans around the home ends isn't ideal. (I appreciate the downside is this deprives our fans who sit in P1, 2 & 3 of their usual seat).
Quote from: SP on January 25, 2024, 11:25:18 AMI really think it's time to give well supported teams more of the Putney End, having so many away fans around the home ends isn't ideal. (I appreciate the downside is this deprives our fans who sit in P1, 2 & 3 of their usual seat).
Defeats the object of being a well supported team giving away fans whole end let alone advantage. Success breeds success normally. It only reflects on how poor our support might be if you give whole end to opposition. Get the pricing right and should never be an issue.
The game just highlighted the difference in quality. We were a distant second best.
Would so love us to recruit shrewdly and see if we can enhance the squad in all positions. I think Marco could probably take us to the next level if we had the players
Really gutted today. Borderline depressed really. Not with the game as such, but just the knowing that we likely won't get a chance like that again for 15+ years if history is anything to go by. And let's be honest, it is.
Of course none of us follow Fulham to watch us compete for trophies, but that elusive opportunity has simply passed us by. Personally there's a real comedown knowing that now it's simply back to the league and competing with Bournemouth for 14th or whatever, in a competition designed to prevent clubs from challenging the establishment with FFP. All about the cups for me
On the game, I don't really feel proud. To be honest I am quite disappointed. I understand pride on paper. 3-2 on aggregate home and away against the name of Liverpool is no shame, look at us giving the top sides a game and all that. But the reality is this was an injury ravaged Liverpool side that were not at their best in either leg, we had our chances in both and didn't take them. We showed them way too much respect and were awful for large parts of game. Spirited at the end and okay in moments. A disappointing goal conceded . 2 errors after Castagne's, but I am of the opinion we don't concede that with tete on the pitch.
I understand the frustration about the subs not being early enough. But in my view, the Wilson changed the game comments are exactly why he's on the bench. He can do that coming on, BDR can't. Andreas had to stay on even if he was playing poorly as we have nobody else who can play there with iwobi away. Yes I would have kept Cairney on at that point, but what people are forgetting is as he was subbed Liverpool changed their shape to go 5 at the back. That killed the momentum more than Cairney coming off did
Anyway, hope this post is the start of me getting over it but sadly i find it hard to get over losses like these
Quote from: ffcthereligion on January 25, 2024, 12:26:00 PMReally gutted today. Borderline depressed really. Not with the game as such, but just the knowing that we likely won't get a chance like that again for 15+ years if history is anything to go by. And let's be honest, it is.
Of course none of us follow Fulham to watch us compete for trophies, but that elusive opportunity has simply passed us by. Personally there's a real comedown knowing that now it's simply back to the league and competing with Bournemouth for 14th or whatever, in a competition designed to prevent clubs from challenging the establishment with FFP. All about the cups for me
On the game, I don't really feel proud. To be honest I am quite disappointed. I understand pride on paper. 3-2 on aggregate home and away against the name of Liverpool is no shame, look at us giving the top sides a game and all that. But the reality is this was an injury ravaged Liverpool side that were not at their best in either leg, we had our chances in both and didn't take them. We showed them way too much respect and were awful for large parts of game. Spirited at the end and okay in moments. A disappointing goal conceded . 2 errors after Castagne's, but I am of the opinion we don't concede that with tete on the pitch.
I understand the frustration about the subs not being early enough. But in my view, the Wilson changed the game comments are exactly why he's on the bench. He can do that coming on, BDR can't. Andreas had to stay on even if he was playing poorly as we have nobody else who can play there with iwobi away. Yes I would have kept Cairney on at that point, but what people are forgetting is as he was subbed Liverpool changed their shape to go 5 at the back. That killed the momentum more than Cairney coming off did
Anyway, hope this post is the start of me getting over it but sadly i find it hard to get over losses like these
It's not over for the cups yet! We have Newcastle next! Silver lining ::wine::
Quote from: LittleErn on January 25, 2024, 09:51:33 AMQuote from: bog on January 25, 2024, 09:14:10 AMAfter that early rather soft goal we had to avoid conceding a second as they were very quick on the break. I thought we played as well as we could given who we were up against. In the closing stages we needed a break like the one for them with that deflected shot up at Anfield.
Just like 1958, 1962, and 2002, in being bloody painful. ::scarf::
Why couldn't we have drawn Boro?
Three times we have played Liverpool this season and each time run them close.
Bring on Newcastle I want revenge for that 4-5 Cup defeat in 1956.
What is with the sports bloke on GB News? After the 4-3 loss at Anfield he gave this as 3-2 and this morning Liverpool won 2-1 on aggregate. Mind you his best one was informing that in one Euro game Man City were 0-2 down at half time but came back to win 3-0.
ExactlY BOG. You forgot the disappointment of 75 though. I saw all those games live - 56 onwards except the 2002 one.
You are right to recall 1975 LittleErn, I didn't list that as we actually got to the final, true it was more sodding heartache on the biggest stage, but at least we made it. However I have loved Fulham for 71 years and will continue to do so. Do I wish I supported one of the top 6? NO! ::scarf::
Difference in quality showed last night & overall they deserved to progress but as others have said, I feel disappointed that we never really seemed to give it a go.
Least I wanted to see was our players absolutely flat out on their backs at the end of the game having given their all, and then a bit more. Didn't feel to me that they did.
Tie turned in the couple of minutes at Anfield when BDR failed to pass & Tosin turned his back. Lack of quality at one end & 'do or die' spirit at the other.
No direct criticism of the players mentioned but highlights to me the difference between the top teams & the rest.
Quote from: FFC1987 on January 25, 2024, 10:24:06 AMIf I'm honest, I'm a bit indifferent to this for once. Proud of the lads for giving it a good go but personally, I expected us to lose over two legs. Only disappointment is, like last season with United, when things with injuries go our way, we fail to really capitalise on it but it is what it is.
I expected us to give it a good go and we certainly did that. It's a bit of a wasted opportunity but getting to quarter finals and semi finals of these competitions whilst maintaining survival is a big win in my book personally. Maybe I'm a lesser supporter for this but I don't expect to win trophies but I do expect effort and courage, of which the players showed plenty so really, I can't complain. ::wine::
The difference in quality couldn't have been starker in that first half, but we made them work for it near the end. The worry is will we get this close again given the likelihood of losing Palhinha? A worry for another day I guess.
Interesting thread, agree with most I've read. Yes, you've got to beat the best if you want to win trophies.
That said, FFC was way too nervous and giving L'pool way too much respect, especially in the first half. Way too sloppy. Way too many easy give aways. Way too many losses in 50/50 situations. Just looking at those two outcomes, against a quality side, FFC should have probably been put to the sword. BUT, give FFC credit for hanging around and getting a couple of good scoring chances during the game. And getting that late equalizer really made the finish exciting. Credit to the lads for playing a top team very tight over two legs. Just a shame the outcome couldn't have been more favorable.