Sports - Football - Premier League - Liverpool 4-0 Blackburn
Sonja Hodgson at Anfield
I was close to tears when "You'll Never Walk Alone" was echoing through Anfield, had goosebumps during the minute of silence and when the crowd cheered and fired on the Reds from kick-off, I was enchanted by the atmosphere.
On Wednesday the Hillsborough disaster will be 20 years ago. On the 15th April 1989, 96 Liverpool fans lost their lives. Services, open-to-all, will be held on Wednesday for friends, family and everyone in the football world to commemorate the loss. The victim's names are listed on the Hillsborough Memorial at Anfield.
Yesterday's match, teams and fans were focused, themed and dedicated only to one thing: Justice for the 96. The Memorial was surrounded by fans before and after the match leaving their scarves, shirts, posters, cards and flowers.
And they got what they came for, a team and match showing heart, dedication, respect and honour. The Merseyside team started without their talisman captain Steven Gerrard, who lost his cousin in the disaster, and with Martin Skrtel and Fabio Aurelio also sidelined, there was a sense of tension, worry and nervousness around the ground from kick-off - but not of long last. Only four minutes into the game, Fernando Torres scored a beauty. Jamie Carragher crossed the ball to the Spaniard from the halfway-line, for him to control it with the first touch and put a right-footed shot up and over Blackburn goalkeeper Paul Robinson with the second.
The fans remained demanding and critical - understandable having seen Liverpool throw away a 1-0 lead against Chelsea on Wednesday. But the worries were unfounded this time.
It should have been 2-0 when Dirk Kuyt made a break after Blackburn lost possession sloppily and passed it to Javier Mascherano who had made a great support run from the halfway-line, but missed for none-other than Torres to put the rebound high and wide from five yards. How he could miss that after he had put in the first beauty puzzled the Kop.
Robinson also saved a point-blank Kuyt header for this time Yossi Benayoun to scoop the rebound over the bar wastefully. Finally and deservedly so, Torres headed in a second goal from a Xabi Alonso free kick. It looked like it accidentally came off the back of his head, but give him the benefit of the doubt a player of his quality deserves once and again.
Albert Riera wasted promising chances, but at half time Liverpool sat comfortably in the driver's seat. Blackburn made their first change after the break and completed their three just after the hour-mark, trying not to concede more goals or even scrape something back and out of the match. Christopher Samba slipped their first and only chance to have it saved by Pepe Reina, leaving Liverpool on top.
After Nabil El Zhar and Mascherano had missed half-chances inside Blackburn's box and Alonso's corner was met by a fine Riera-header which cleared off the line by Samba, it looked like the third goal just did not and would not want to come for Liverpool. But Daniel Agger fired in a belter showing everyone how it is done, putting it past Robinson's right with his left foot. And it was all given a sweet topping for the Kop when Lucas received Carragher's diagonal ball on the left side of the box and headed across the goal for David Ngog to get the last touch to make it 4-0.
This is just what the doctor ordered for Liverpool to regain confidence after their Champions League defeat against Chelsea and to face their London rivals in the second-leg clash on Tuesday with a chance.
This was an indescribable experience for me. The atmosphere, the fans, the game, just everything. The sunset along the Mersey the evening before was just as breath-and-word-taking; the lady in the bus on our way to the ground with the Everton-ringtone on her phone was just as brave, daring and courageous; just as Liverpool will have to be on Tuesday to make it to the Champions League semi-final.
Unlinked photographs taken by Sonja Hodgson
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