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by Robert Armstrong © The Guardian |
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| Liverpool eased their way through to the semi-finals of the European Cup with the almost contemptuous demolition of FK Austria of Vienna at Anfield last night. The European champions enlivened a bitterly cold evening with a lethal exhibition of finishing that killed off the Austrians well within the hour. The over-eager Walsh failed to complete his hat-trick by missing a penalty awarded for a foul on Nicol. Liverpool settled into a polished rhythm comparable to a medium-paced cha cha punctuated by bol thrusts to the heart of the Austrian defence. With MacDonald orchestrating possession from central midfield and Nicol breaking forward to damaging effect on the right flank, FK Austria found themselves under consistent pressure from the front runners Walsh and Rush. However, the champions were given a timely reminder of their opponents ability to counter-attack with remarkable pace and accuracy. One sortie which began on the edge of the Austrian penalty area took the speedy Steinkogler past three challengers and produced a corner from which Polster almost scored with a downward header; Whelan hooked the ball off the line. Nevertheless, Liverpool refused to adopt cautious measures, wisely as it turned out when they took the lead with a goal of stunning quality after 16 minutes. Sensing a vista of unmarked space opening in front of him, Kennedy sprinted down the left flank, accepted a finely judged through-pass from Hansen, and delivered a low cross to the near post where Walsh scored with a majestic diving header. A few minutes later Walsh hammered an angled drive over the bar from 12 yards. | FK Austria were not in the least put out, counter-attacking with a sense of steely purpose that might well have produced two goals midway through the half. First, Steinkogler tested Grobbelaar with a hard swerving drive which was cleared after a moment's goalmouth pantomime. Then Polster sent Prohaska clear with a clever back-heel, but the shot went a foot wide of the left post. Liverpool resumed their pressure with a series of attacks that drew gasps of admiration from the Kop. Not even the opposition seemed surprised when Liverpool increased their lead in the 37th minute, Hansen inspiring the move with another through-pass, this time to the feet of Whelan. Red shirts simply queued up in the goal mouth for the cross, with Nicol finally scoring off the inside of a post. In the meantime, Degeorgi was cautioned for a crude foul on Walsh under the nose of the referee. There was still time before the interval for Whelan to put a first-time volley wide of the Austrian goal. Thirty seconds after the restart, Liverpool set the Austrians a mountain to climb with a third goal that owed much to the disarray in the opposition defence. Kennedy sent Rush clear on the left and when the striker fired a low cross into the goalmouth, Obermayer stuck out a foot to deflect the ball into his own net. Liverpool scored a fourth after 55 minutes. Whelan took a corner from the left and when Daxbacher could only scoop the ball straight up in the air, Walsh moved forward to take his chance with a spectacular volley into the corner of the net from 15 yards. |
Match article courtesy of  |
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| by Ian Ross © The Liverpool Post | |
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Liverpool buried Austria Vienna beneath an avalanche of goals and class at Anfield last night to move sweetly into the European Cup semi- finals. It was Paul Walsh, only in the side because of Kenny Dalglish's suspension, who was instrumental in crushing the Austrian's challenge with two superbly taken goals. While it was Liverpool's own unique brand of powerhouse football which gave them almost complete control in the first half it was, rather strangely, Vienna who carved out and subsequently squandered the better of the openings. The holders' overwhelming desire to put this tie beyond reach as quickly as possible resulted in them living dangerously at the back on numerous occasions. Vienna, superbly orchestrated by the vastly experienced figure of Herbert Prohaska, dug deep into their reserves of strength to keep alive a match which could easily have been reduced to little more than a formality within 15 minutes of the kick-off. Their refusal to hoist the white flag of surrender was both commendable and unexpected, after Walsh had struck as early as the 16th minute. With just eight minutes gone, winger Karl Daxbacher saw his powerful header from Prohaska's corner scrambled off the line by Ronnie Whelan. The game swung dramatically in Liverpool's favour after 16 minutes when Walsh, who had made such an impact in the first leg a fortnight ago, struck with typical efficiency. Alan Hansen released Alan Kennedy down the left flank and the full back's low driven cross was brilliantly headed home by the England international. Rush mystifyingly hooked Steve Nicol's pinpoint cross over the crossbar before Prohaska was guilty of an astonishing miss. Sent clear by a deft back flick from Polster, he fired well wide when scoring seemed the easier option. The second goal Liverpool sought was to finally arrive after 37 minutes when the Vienna defence was torn to shreds by a move of considerable class. Hansen released Whelan down the left and the Irishman's low cross was met at the far post by Nicol, the man who had salvaged a draw with a late goal a fortnight ago. |
It took Liverpool just 15 seconds after the restart to effectively seal their passage into the semi-finals. Kennedy pushed a long ball deep into the Vienna half and as Erich Obermayer desperately tried to block Rush's cross, the ball looped up and over the stranded figure of goalkeeper Friedrich Koncilia. After 56 minutes Walsh grabbed his second when he volleyed home sweetly from just inside the area after Daxbacher failed to clear a Ronnie Whelan cross. Vienna's refusal to concede defeat finally paid dividends when after 64 minutes they claimed the goal their adventurous forward play deserved. Prohaska slotting his free kick beyond the diving Grobbelaar. Liverpool's four-goal cushion should have been restored 15 minutes from time. Regular penalty taker John Wark generously handed Walsh the opportunity to complete a hat-trick but he drove his spot kick well wide. Despite the victory, Anfield boss Joe Fagan was annoyed about Paul Walsh's penalty miss, saying he should never have taken it in the first place: "We can't afford to smile about things like that. It wasn't right that the lad should have been burdened with taking the kick, even though he was on a hat-trick. We think it was a bit unprofessional and we have had words about it in the dressing room". Fagan admitted that he had considered taking off Welsh marksman, Ian Rush, who was booked midway through the second half. "I was considering bringing Ian off because we didn't want to lose him for the next round". He was however pleased, despite the penalty incident. "I think we deserved it. We were the best side on the night. Our third goal was the vital one. The fourth was a real bonus and it was more or less exhibition stuff in the second half. It doesn't really bother me who we meet in the semi-finals," concluded Fagan. |