Well, we started out with a bang, getting the ball down into the box twice, but came up empty. They weren't easy attempts by any means, but I was hoping it would be a sign that we would be unleashing an all out attack today, but for about the next twenty minutes we reverted back to how we played in the first last week.
I would really like to know where Insua is playing. Is he playing in the midfield with Gonzo playing up or his he playing left back. Does he know? I hope Rafa told him to play up more because he is rarely playing back, which is forcing Hyypia over and leaving Paletta alone in the middle. This also creates a lot of holes and though the ball is rarely being brought down on his side, Arbeloa isn't coming over to help Paletta out much. Thank God Paletta is having a decent game and the Hyypia from second half of last week is back.
You know you're having a bad game when you've scored 162 career Premiership goals, yet you can't finish a cross which required you just to stick your foot out at almost any angle then the way you did. It's pretty comical when Robbie Fowler can't finish. Overall, he's played pretty poorly, but all would have been forgiven had he scored there. I expect him to pick it up in the second half.
The team did get better as the half wore on, mainly because of Pennant, Xabi, and Sissoko. Xabi seems to have found some of that Spanish flare that was missing lately as has Sissoko seems more patient on the ball. You can tell Pennant is trying hard but the defense has him marked almost everytime, yet he's definitely been a catalyst in getting attempts on for other players.
The ref has been inconsistent and pathetic. He's missed calls for both sides as well as made inexistent calls against both sides. He can see something that is deserving of a yellow card thirty feet away but he has no clue how somebody's nose is bleeding. What a fucking joke. Neither Arbeloa nor Fowler deserved their cards, Fowler got the ball and Arbeloa's man flopped.
I have mixed feelings whether or not we should pull Insua back and go for the draw here. Maybe Harry Kewell will have something to say about that.