Hearts 0:1 Liverpool in game & post match discussion.

i thought morgan had a shocker.... didnt even touch the ball the whole time he was on the pitch.... just ran around like a headless chicken... we should totally bring michael owen back

Wait this is the knee jerk thread right?

once we saw the big guns were out of the squad and then carroll joined them early we knew this wasnt going to be a walk in the park. we got the result now we turn our focus to anfield this weekend!

I'd have took that against West Brom so I'm happy to take it here, I'd play that poor for the remaining 37 league games if we got the same result.

Winning when your not at your best is what wins you titles.

Not saying we'll win any.

But its better to win than lose when your performance isn't exactly great.

We'd have lost a game like that last year.

Have to agree on one thing Corbally said. Sebs must be sh*te in practice to be behind Carra at this point.

I'd agree with that too. I hope the manager sees something in Coates.

Phew....glad its done & dusted and look forward to a more improved performance from the team sunday.

A win is a win. Sterling MOTM. Away goal and a clean sheet.

I'd have taken that before kick off. Pleased for young Raheem. 

Poor performance in truth, Sterling is the only one who can hold his head high after that match! The midfield was the main sticking point though, Adam proved once again he is no where good enough and Spearing showed again he just cant cut it. Shelvey probably had his worst game for us and almost caused us to concede at the end  which Reina rightfully bollocked him for! Carragher was worrying to watch to be honest, was a dog awful game for him. This game just goes to show how little strength in depth we have to the squad.

None the less though we got the goal and a clean sheet which stands us in good stead for the 2nd leg. Hopefully this win will push us on for another win next time out!

Charlie Adam is lazy as F**k

Thought there was a significant improvement in our passing when Allen came on.

He's essential at the moment.

1-0 Away in Europe never argue with that result.

Reina - looking really back to his best, very encouraging and great to see Pepe, well in!
Agger - composed and easily our best defender on display.
Carragher - shocking, looked woefully 1 paced in the first half and was completely at sea, a bit better in 2nd half but still looks way past it.
Kelly - o.k. performance, improvement on the WBA game and good assist for the goal, tireless running and did alright on the night.
Robinson - pretty shocking first half, very poor. Came off for Downing which was odd but to be fair to Downing he did ok there.
Shelvey - Worst performance in a red shirt for me, gave the ball away so many times and simply looked lazy the entire game.
Henderson - A couple of moments of excellent play thrown in with a few terrible and an awful lot of mediocre thrown in between.
Spearing - Not good enough, played on the outskirts of the game and did little with the ball when he had it, covered well for Robinson a bit.
Adam - Poor decision making, lazy and really ineffective for me, had a few shots but think on each occasion bar the one with his right foot maybe he should of passed. Not good enough.
Sterling - Easily M.o.t.M, unlucky not to finish with a goal, up and down the pitch the whole game had the full back petrified went outside him, inside him and deserved a goal and definitely deserves a chance in the first team but "handle with care" for sure.
Borini - I thought played alright, movement was excellent the entire game to the point the linesman gave 3 offsides which were all wrong and 2 would of been clear cut. Should of scored when Sterling laid him on but there is a lot to like about his game.
Allen - came on for spearing and looked a class above, don't know how many times he won back possession within seconds of us losing it, massively impressed by this lad.

1-0 Away in Europe never argue with that result.

Reina - looking really back to his best, very encouraging and great to see Pepe, well in!
Agger - composed and easily our best defender on display.
Carragher - shocking, looked woefully 1 paced in the first half and was completely at sea, a bit better in 2nd half but still looks way past it.
Kelly - o.k. performance, improvement on the WBA game and good assist for the goal, tireless running and did alright on the night.
Robinson - pretty shocking first half, very poor. Came off for Downing which was odd but to be fair to Downing he did ok there.
Shelvey - Worst performance in a red shirt for me, gave the ball away so many times and simply looked lazy the entire game.
Henderson - A couple of moments of excellent play thrown in with a few terrible and an awful lot of mediocre thrown in between.
Spearing - Not good enough, played on the outskirts of the game and did little with the ball when he had it, covered well for Robinson a bit.
Adam - Poor decision making, lazy and really ineffective for me, had a few shots but think on each occasion bar the one with his right foot maybe he should of passed. Not good enough.
Sterling - Easily M.o.t.M, unlucky not to finish with a goal, up and down the pitch the whole game had the full back petrified went outside him, inside him and deserved a goal and definitely deserves a chance in the first team but "handle with care" for sure.
Borini - I thought played alright, movement was excellent the entire game to the point the linesman gave 3 offsides which were all wrong and 2 would of been clear cut. Should of scored when Sterling laid him on but there is a lot to like about his game.
Allen - came on for spearing and looked a class above, don't know how many times he won back possession within seconds of us losing it, massively impressed by this lad.

Spot on assessment Luke, though I though Hendo did ok and looked much better in the 2nd half.

to be fair to shelvey. he was the player who was trying to pass the upwards and not looking for safe passes.

Thought there was a significant improvement in our passing when Allen came on.

He's essential at the moment.

I feel that Joe Allen is only going to get better as he plays more games for us. Looking like a good purchase.

I do not give us a cat in hells chance of playing the system Rogers wants this team to play, it's only a matter of time before we start giving goals away from the mistakes, the midfield went hiding in the second half through fear of making mistakes and that's down to Rogers and his belief that says no kicking the ball away under pressure pass it.

Liam Tomkins ‏@liam_tomkins

Nothing makes the sphincter tighten more than Charlie Adam running alongside an opponent towards his own penalty area.

I know it's only been two games but Borini has been terrible. For a guy with his style of play his touch isn't very good and he doesn't move with the ball that well. I wasnt expecting a Luis Suarez but I would have at least expected him to play like Dirk Kuyt. This far he looks like Dirk but with worse touch.

I know it's only been two games but Borini has been terrible. For a guy with his style of play his touch isn't very good and he doesn't move with the ball that well. I wasnt expecting a Luis Suarez but I would have at least expected him to play like Dirk Kuyt. This far he looks like Dirk but with worse touch.

He has not been terrible. Not even close.

His workrate is great, his movement is even better, his positional sense is good, and he links up well. The goals will come.

Henderson was good today. Would have much preferred him in the middle to Shelvey, as I originally thought would happen.

I know it's only been two games but Borini has been terrible. For a guy with his style of play his touch isn't very good and he doesn't move with the ball that well. I wasnt expecting a Luis Suarez but I would have at least expected him to play like Dirk Kuyt. This far he looks like Dirk but with worse touch.

Except he moves about 2x quicker than Dirk and his positioning is quite good.

The goals will come.

In truth we were fecking awful

Minuscule attacking threat with Sterling the only one with his head held up high.

Borini is a joke when you consider that good money has been paid for him and Carroll isn't even started. Rodgers is scaring the hell out of me.

Only caught the game from the start of the second half. Was quite impressed with the way the lads played. Some of the youngsters seemed to be doing themselves justice, e.g. Sterling, Robinson. Disappointed, once again, with the performance of Charlie Adam but I have come to expect that.

This competition will be great for blooding youngsters. Would have been great to see Morgan given at least 10 minutes on the pitch but he barely had a touch of the ball. However, I am sure he will get his chance. On Borini, goals will come. His work-rate is excellent and positioning is also very good. I will never see him as a major goal scorer and I know we didn't have Suarez or Carroll but, and nothing against Borini, tonight highlighted even more to me that we need a goalscorer.

Hearts gave themselves some justice by playing reasonably well. However, I fully expect us to play reasonably comfortably next week and get a win. Either way, a 1-0 away win is good against any team in Europe but to do it with a few youngsters was great to see.

I was delighted to hear Carra and Fowler talking post-match and praising the abilities of the likes of Morgan and Kelly, who played an excellent ball in for the goal.

Reina - 8/10
Produced 2 top class saves and looks like he's back on form after a disastrous 11/12 campaign
Kelly 8/10
Very solid defensively, and whipped in a great ball which led to the OG
Carra 6/10
Cant play it out from the back. Lost count of the number of back passes
Agger 7/10
Wasn't on top form but a satisfactory performance
Robinson 7/10
Showed great enthusiasm, and really put himself about
Shelvey 5/10
Terrible perfromance. stray passes, sloppy in possesion
Hendo 8/10
Nothing to fancy. Does his job very well, and suits tiki-taka to tee
Adam 8/10
Surprisingly decent. A few nice turns and a couple of great passes. Didn't take too long on the ball either
Allen 8/10
Rolls Royce of a footballer, fantastic first touch, and very quick brain, means he thrives under tiki taka
Spearing 7/10
Average performance. Covered very well for CB's in some cases
Borini 6/10
Caught offside a few times. Didnt look a goal threat
Sterling 8/10
When 1on1 did very well

Hendo MOTM