The Ghost Goal

EVEN now after all these years, it still amuses me to hear Jose Mourinho whinging about Luis Garcia’s controversial goal in the Champions League semi-final of 2005. 

Whether it's the 'ghost goal’, ‘the goal that never was’, or ‘the goal that didn’t cross the line’, I love recalling the reality - the goal that saw Liverpool defeat Chelsea and move on to win our fifth European Cup in Istanbul. 

Mourinho, of course, has repeatedly moaned about its validity, and despite all his success since that fateful night, the now Real Madrid manager just cannot let it drop. In his eyes, his ‘heroes’ or the 'better side' as he claimed, were unquestionably robbed. He will probably complain about the injustice of it all until his dying day, and I hope he does continue, because his bitterness makes the memory of our triumph just that little bit sweeter.

I realise that it's a shame to start my first post on this new blog by talking about the self-proclaimed Special One, but I was reminded of his oh-so-sour grapes when talking to a Chelsea fan last week, as we discussed the Raul Meireles transfer (a good move for everybody concerned - the player, Liverpool and Chelsea, we agreed) and his team’s chances of success in the Champions League this season.

When the old chestnut eventually cropped up I decided to issue the stock response: that the referee probably decided to award the goal because it was an easier option than sending off Chelsea’s goalkeeper Peter Cech and awarding a penalty for his foul on Milan Baros in the build up to King Luis’ strike.

I thought I’d heard it all where Garcia’s this matter was concerned, but his reply left me flabbergasted – apparently Baros should have been penalised for a high foot and a free kick awarded to Chelsea. I was tempted to either laugh manically, or make a point of rolling my eyes,  but seeing as I was sat in a barber’s chair and he was brandishing a pair of sharp scissors, I decided to let his preposterous claim ride.

Now, I understand that Chelsea fans feel cheated to this day, and if it was me, I'm sure I would be equally, if not more, bitter. But until last weekend I had very little sympathy for their misfortune. A goal is a goal is a goal. If the referee gives it, you move on. 

Sadly that all changed on Saturday, when the Reds faced Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium. It was a match in which Liverpool supporters relying on a certain public-funded media service received a dose of our own medicine – experiencing a haunting phantom goal.

I was already unlucky enough to be sat in work rather than stood with the traveling Kop, and as it was the end of my shift, I was glued to a foreign TV channel, streaming footage of the encounter on my computer screen. Watching matches in this way is not without its hazards – a time delay and some skipping is almost inevitable, the commentary on this occasion was in English but came with a pronounced echo, and if it wasn’t displayed on a full screen with all other internet windows closed, it ground to an abrupt halt.

With 80 minutes on the clock, Liverpool trailing 1-0 to an avoidable penalty and my frustration rapidly mounting, I received a phone call from my better half. She asked me when I would be coming home, seeing as I’d finished work over an hour previously, and I could sense an argument was in the making. Clearly so could she given the circumstances, as she quickly added “Calm down, the score’s 1-1 now anyway, I’ve just seen it on the BBC website.”

Factoring into account the time delay of several minutes, my immediate conclusion was that we had indeed equalised, and all was once again well in the world. I said I would call her back, celebrated (but not too much, seeing as I hadn’t actually seen the goal), and waited for the inevitable joy. And waited. And waited. And waited. “This must be it” I cried. “Here it comes!” "Maybe it’s from this corner..."… Until finally, frantically looking at my watch: “How long can this delay be?!”

I didn’t want to lose the footage now the stream was up and running, I couldn’t open a Sky Sports application on my phone, so I held out for as long as possible. My workmate even confirmed it said it was 1-1 on the BBC website – but the ghost goal never came. Even in the dying minutes I tried to convince myself a goal was about to materialise, and that this was in fact the worst time delay ever – a delay that would have involved my girlfriend speaking to me from the future when she announced the goal. But she is not Marty McFly nor Doctor Who, and when Luis Suarez spurned a glorious last chance I had to concede it wasn’t to be. Credit where it's due - my girlfriend quickly sent the following evidence (before I drove home and wreaked vengeance for the worst practical joke ever):

Turning to the game, simply put, we deserved at least a draw. Our first half performance was sloppy, none-more-so than Charlie Adam and his wayward passing, and blighted by errors, none worse than Carragher’s wrestling contest with Jon Walters. It was a needless penalty to concede, and quite frankly reinforces doubts over Jamie’s long term future in the first team, with our defensive stalwart out muscled and out positioned - two aspects of his game where he has always excelled. 

But our second half performance was much better, we enjoyed an incredible amount of possession away from home, and we fashioned enough chances to maintain our unbeaten record. Yes, we need somebody to provide goals on the occasions Suarez fails to shine, and for me the return of Steven Gerrard can't come soon enough. But while our terrible run away at Stoke continues for another year, it was nothing like the abject defeat 12 months ago at the same stadium, when Roy Hodgson’s charges served up one of the worst performances of his shocking reign. We are a work in progress under Kenny Dalglish, and if that is how well we play in defeat, there will be many better days ahead.

Speaking of the King, his post match ‘rant’ was nothing of the sort – it was a targeted response that achieved its aims, much like the many tirades launched by Alex Ferguson down the years. This week he held face-to-face talks with Mike Riley, the general manager of Professional Game Match Officials, and I’m willing to bet the next time an opposition player should be sent off against us, as in the case of Kieran Richardson on the opening day against Sunderland, or the Reds awarded a penalty, as in the case of Luis Suarez against Bolton, the right decision will be made. This is one of the many reasons why we all love Kenny – he fights our corner at any and every opportunity, which is exactly how it should be.

Next we face Tottenham away at White Hart Lane, which like the Britannia is generally an unhappy hunting ground for Liverpool. Our victories there have been sporadic during the Premiership era, with three defeats in the league in the last three years – the one in the 2008-09 season particularly galling and unmerited. Our last win at Spurs, a 2-0 victory in an end-of-season dead rubber in 2007-08, came courtesy of goals from Torres and Voronin, which I’m sure we can all agree, seems like a lifetime ago!

For me a positive result would be a draw, and I would be delighted if we could keep a clean sheet. We need to cut out the mistakes that have cost us clean sheets in all but one Premiership fixture so far this season – our defence is well drilled and we are letting our hard work go to waste. One thing is for sure, I will be watching the game in real-time, and the BBC live feed will not be relied upon in any way, shape or form!