Liverpool won the 2012 Carling Cup, Wembley, Liverpool Juara

Thank you Liverpool for making my day, today Monday 27 February 2012 is a very happy day for me and millions more Liverpool fans, worldwide.

This match again proved that the 35 million pound sterling Liverpool striker Andy Caroll is damn useless. I hereby plead with Sir Kenny Dalglish to just get rid of that meaningless pony-tailed ugly looking, football disaster. However Hail to The Reds, the 2005 King of Europe, the Star of England and the pride of Merseyside....

Hari ini Isnin 27 Februari 2012, hari paling menggembirakan buat jutaan peminat Liverpool di seluruh dunia termasuk saya di Kiulu, Sabah, Malaysia.

Liverpool juara Piala Liga atau Carling Cup, tewaskan pasukan yang diwakili jutawan Malaysia, Cardiff City dalam final di Stadium Wembley, London pada awal pagi tadi.

Meskipun pemain Cardiff menyarung jersi yang tertera perkataan negara kita Malaysia di depan dan belakang, namun sokongan saya tidak berbelah bahagi ke atas Liverpool, pasukan yang saya amat minati sejak sebelum saya dilahirkan ke dunia ini lagi.

Liverpool menjaringkan 2 gol pada masa permainan sebenar termasuk masa tambahan menerusi Martin Skrtel dan penyerang gantian dari Belanda yang menggantikan the useless Andy Caroll, Dirk Kuyt.

Kedudukan selepas masa tambahan 2-2.

Namun Liverpool menang penalti 3-2 meskipun penalti Steven Gerrard dan Charlie Adams tidak menerjah gawang.

Cardiff pula terlepas atau miss 3 penalti termasuk penalti terakhir yang diambil pemain bernama Gerrard juga yang berasal dari Liverpool iaitu Anthony Gerrard.

So nampaknya 2 Gerrard miss penalti.

Apapun Tahniah Liverpool, ini baru permulaan untuk sesuatu yang menakjubkan di musim ini. Percayalah.

What drama, what a finish, what a final, what contrasting family fortunes. When Anthony Gerrard missed the decisive penalty, so giving the Carling Cup to Liverpool, the Cardiff City defender looked to the heavens, then to the ground, seeking solace, an explanation, an escape. His cousin Steven, putting his joy briefly to one side, ran across, attempting to console him.

They are flesh and blood. They played with and against each other while growing up on the Bluebell Estate in Huyton, Merseyside. “I love him, he’s family,’’ said Steven, who had missed the first kick of the shoot-out. Nothing he could say could console Anthony. Others tried.

Pepe Reina tried. Malky Mackay and his Cardiff players tried. No words of sympathy and support, no tender arms enveloping him could ease the pain.

For all his anguish, Anthony Gerrard should reflect on this game with a collective pride. His side lost a shoot-out but won countless friends. Cardiff simply refused to be overawed. Even when Martin Skrtel and Dirk Kuyt overturned Joe Mason’s opener, Cardiff never gave up. Even when their legs were filling up with cramp, they kept pushing for an equaliser that arrived from Ben Turner with three minutes of extra time remaining, sending the final into penalties and emotions into the wringer.

The first three failed to make the mark, the final threatening to turn into a day-nighter. First Liverpool’s Gerrard missed. Then Kenny Miller hit a post. Then Charlie Adam unleashed a shot that probably had Heathrow-bound planes taking evasive action. Composure eventually joined proceedings. Don Cowie coolly placed his kick past Reina.

Liverpool were back in the old routine, winning trophies. But this was hardly the most stellar of displays. Some of the investment in underperforming players has yet to be repaid. Andy Carroll (£35 million) was poor, Jordan Henderson (£20 million) even poorer. Downing somehow won the man-of-the-match honours when Skrtel was vastly superior, holding the defence together at times.

Sunday was a reminder of Kenny Dalglish’s impact, uniting the club, giving the team more confidence, but it also demonstrated how much work still remained. Sober reflections will have been few last night. Liverpool’s players and supporters were in party mood. As the champagne sprayed through the air, the Wembley DJ ran through Liverpool’s favoured songs from Ring of Fire to You’ll Never Walk Alone. And so the day had concluded as it began with the singing of this Rodgers and Hammerstein classic before it was all aboard this crazy carousel of a Carling Cup final. Cardiff fans were in terrific voice. They threw beach-balls around, booed Luis Suárez when his name was announced, applauded Craig Bellamy and held up a banner stating “Don’t Worry About A Thing”.

Long Live the Reds, You will never walk alone.