So who's feelin' 'glad all over' now then? Not those cocky little upstarts from Selhurst (and by that I'm referring to the fans, not the players - Clinton Morrisson apart obviously) that's for sure. The arrogance of their fans after the game at Selhurst had me desperately wanting us to give them a right old mullering at Anfield, and thankfully we did. Morrisson had a torrid time, and although I think he was probably done up like a kipper by the press, I'm sure he's learnt a valuable lesson from this - and that is when to keep your big mouth shut. That mis-kick in front of the Kop was absolutely priceless. As that ball was droping to him, he must have been dreaming of ramming the taunts back down our throats, but unfortunately for Clint he took his eye off the ball and ended up looking like a complete Andy Cole. Fair play to him though, he took all the stick in the right way, and even applauded the Kop at one point when they accused him of taking it up the.. ahem.
This was a great night all round, well not quite. The fact that this proved to be a sell out meant that there were a lot of reds who couldn't get in, including John and Ashraf who'd travelled down from Yorkshire without tickets because I told them they'd be able to pay on the night. I feel terrible about that, and can only offer my apologies once again. I don't think anyone could believe that this was a sell out, as we have struggled to fill Anfield for weekend league games of late, never mind midweek cup games.
Two more reds who were left stranded were John Gallagher and his mate, who rarely miss a game, home or away. John's been to every game in this year's Worthington Cup except Palace away, but he never bought a ticket for this one thinking he'd just pay on the night. He was understandably pissed off at not getting in, and rightly pointed out to me "where the fuck were all these people for the Fulham game?" A fair point.
Obviously it was the reduced ticket prices combined with the score from the first leg that ensured this was a sell out, but when I got into the ground I saw a big empty space in the corner of the Anny Road, obviously where Palace hadn't taken up their full allocation of tickets. I couldn't help but think of the lads left stranded outside. Surely there was some way that those seats could have been sold to those outside the ground without tickets?
The effect of the full house was there for all to see though, as this was like a European night in terms of atmosphere. It didn't last of course, as our first half barrage of goals killed the game as a contest, but this was arguably the most 'up for it' the Anfield crowd has been all season. The whole ground were singing at times, even the Main Stand! I sit in the Main Stand all the time, and I don't think I've ever seen it so lively.
The players responded, and right from the off Palace were under pressure. I had a bad feeling about this game prior to kick off, as I was convinced Palace would sit deep and block up the middle of the field to stop us getting through. Thankfully it would seem that tactics are not Alan Smith's strong point, and he adopted the suicidal ploy of defending on the halfway line. I don't care who you are, if you try to play like that against us you'll get hammered.
The midfielders ran through Palace at will, as witnessed by Vladi and Igor's terrific goals, wonderfully made by Fowler I must say. Murphy's volley was a thing of beauty as well, as was the cross from Jari which picked him out. Smicer and Murphy were the star performers for me, and Smicer seems to be growing in confidence week by week. Some of his silky touches are a joy to behold.
Everyone seemed determined to help Fowler get on the scoresheet, particularly Vladi and Jari, and Litmanen's attempted headed lay off was admirably unselfish, although had the scores been closer I would hope that he'd have buried it himself. Biscan had a great game too, and he's quickly become a real favourite (although I wish we could bin that droning "Eeeeegooooorrr" chant in favour of something a bit more original). Nice to see Gary Mac back as well, and had that thunderbolt of his been an inch more to the left then all four of midfielders would have scored in the first half hour. Would that have been some sort of record?
We were even treated to the rare sight of Christian Ziege in a left back role for the last ten minutes or so. That severe new haircut of his makes him look like one scary bastard. He wasn't exactly much of a looker to begin with, but now he looks like an extra from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The whole side played well tonight, and fittingly Fowler grabbed a well deserved goal right at the end (which I missed as I had to get outside to sell what was left of the mags). There's no doubt that the pressure was on Fowler tonight, but he made two, and buried the only chance that came his way. The question now is will it be enough to keep his place for the game with Leeds?
TEAM: Sander Westerveld; Steven Gerrard (Dietmar Hamann), Sami Hyypia, Stephane Henchoz, Jamie Carragher (Christian Ziege); Danny Murphy, Gary McAllister, Igor Biscan, Vladimir Smicer (Nick Barmby); Jari Litmanen, Robbie Fowler:
