Stoke CIty 1 Liverpool 1

LIVERPOOL were cruelly denied a confidence-boosting win this afternoon as Robert Huth snatched a last-gasp equaliser for Stoke.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos looked as if he was going to be the Reds’ unlikely hero when bundling in his first goal for the club on 57 minutes, a moment that looked set to ease the pressure on Rafa Benitez.

But this campaign has been littered with crushing moments caused by goals in the shadows of time and Liverpool suffered another in the 90th minute when Huth was left unmarked to grab a share of the spoils for the home side.

Despite fielding a patched-up side with several players being deployed in unfamiliar roles, Liverpool made an encouraging start to the contest and with better decision making, might have created the opening they need to give their confidence a lift.

The closest they came to troubling Stoke keeper Thomas Sorensen was when Lucas got a clear sight of goal on the edge of the area but his powerful shot was charged down on 19 minutes following a sequence of quick passes.

Lucas, as has been the case for much of the season, was a figure of great industry and he should have seen a charging run into the box rewarded with a penalty shortly after when he was crudely stopped in his tracks.

For some reason, however, Lee Mason – a referee who has irked Benitez several times this season – refrained from pointing to the spot and, to make matters worse, booked the Brazilian for diving; television replays confirmed he was wrong on both counts.

That was the only taking point of a relatively humdrum first 45 minutes but Benitez could only have taken heart from the way his team were prepared to knuckle down and fight in a raucous atmosphere.

It takes more than just solid defending and hard work in a first half to win a game and Liverpool, clearly, haven’t always been able to build from such bases during this dispiriting campaign but they were intent on changing that here.
Their reward came just before the hour when, following a foul on David Ngog, Fabio Aurelio fizzed in a free-kick that Sorensen flapped at under pressure and Kyrgiakos was able to force the ball across the line from a yard out.

While Kyrgiakos was simply intent on getting back to do his job in the back four, the visiting supporters celebrated as if Liverpool had returned to the top of the league but it was hardly a surprise; it was a goal of huge significance.

With Stoke fashioning few, if any, clear chances, it was there for Liverpool to ram home their advantage but – not for the first time this year – they gave the impression they were never more vulnerable than after taking the lead.

Turning up the pressure with an aerial bombardment, Stoke tried their hardest to fashion an equaliser but Pepe Reina did his best to ease any nerves by punching and grabbing any ball that came into his area.

Unfortunately, however, he was powerless to prevent the home side pilfering an equaliser in the last minute, Huth prodding in from two yards after Danny Higginbotham had knocked down Matt Etherington’s corner.

There was still time for one late twist and Dirk Kuyt thought he had come to the rescue but his diving header from Aurelio’s fabulous left wing cross hit the post and bounced to safety. It was a moment that, in truth, summed up Liverpool’s season – so near yet so far.