Liverpool crashed out of the Carling Cup last night after a pathetic performance from the home side ended with a depressingly inevitable 4-2 penalty shootout loss to League Two strugglers Northampton Town.
A limp and lifeless display from the Reds combined with a good effort from the visitors led to the game finishing all square after 120 minutes of Carling Cup football. With the score at 2-2 a penalty shootout was needed to determine who would progress to the fourth round.
Guinan and David Ngog missed the first penalty for their respective sides, however these misses were followed by five successful spot-kicks. Nathan Eccleston then smashed his shot onto the cross bar from the Reds fourth penalty, meaning that Osman could send the away supporters into delirium if he converted his spot-kick.
He stepped up and confidently placed the ball past Jones to win the penalty shootout for his Northampton side and condemn us to yet another embarrassing early exit in a domestic cup competition.
Roy Hodgson's team selection only became controversial after the match as many people (myself included) originally supported his decision to rest those who had played on Sunday against Manchester United, and to allow youngsters such as Martin Kelly, Daniel Pacheco and Jay Spearing the chance to shine against what were considered inferior opposition.
Although the starting eleven was questioned after the match I stand by Hodgson's decision to play a youthful side as even our Academy starlets should have had enough quality to comfortably beat the opposition in front of us.
We simply played nowhere near our potential, and the visitors exploited this with a great performance of their own to claim victory.
Ironically, a nightmare night for the Reds started positively as Daniel Agger split the backline with a fantastic through ball for the on-rushing Milan Jovanovic. The Serbian international made no mistake with a powerful finish into the far corner to secure his first Liverpool goal.
However, despite that ominous beginning for the away side Liverpool failed to establish any sort of control throughout the tie and disappointingly couldn't develop a substantial lead at any point.
In fact, Northampton began to dominate the game from mid-way through the first half onwards, and certainly created a greater number of goalscoring opportunities as Liverpool's reserves unsuccessfully attempted to gel into a side that looked like winning a football match.
After 25 minutes Johnson's deep cross from the right was headed high over the debutant Brad Jones' bar and into the Kop by Michael Jacobs. Then, only three minutes later Kevin Thornton motored towards goal and shot goalwards from all of 20 yards. Thankfully, Jones was nowhere near being troubled.
Northampton continued to create the better chances as McKay's curler from the left corner of the box seemed destined to nestle in the back of the net. Fortunately it glided just beyond the post and behind for a goalkick. Town then went close again as Gilligan slashed a volley wide when well placed after 37 minutes.
Somehow in just over 10 minutes Liverpool had scarcely managed to craft a single opportunity, with Lucas' shot straight into the arms of the keeper being the only half-chance created. Conversely, the team from three divisions lower had frightened the home side's defence on four occasions.
It was simply unacceptable and, despite the one goal lead that they possessed, I am sure that the youngsters would have received a stern word or two from Hodgson during the half time interval.
Nevertheless, the Northampton attackers continued to persistently ask questions of the Reds defence during the second half as Liverpool posed no sort of attacking threat despite their below-par first half display.
Northampton's pressure eventually told three minutes before the hour mark as Billy McKay smashed Thornton's header across goal and past Jones from close range.
You would have thought that actually conceding an equalising goal at home to the team ranked 85th in English football would spark a reaction from the country's most successful team and that we would inevitably regain superiority.
However, that was not the case as the away side dominated and threatened for the rest of the half. After 62 minutes Jacobs' cross deflected off Ngog and spun perilously across the face of the Liverpool goal.
Then, Gilligan shot wide of target before Liverpool's Ryan Babel tried to turn the tide in favour of the Anfield club.
With 18 minutes left to find a winner the Dutch forward turned and shot but his strike was blocked. Four minutes later he powered down the left wing before cutting back onto his right foot and crossing to Pacheco. Unfortunately the little Spaniard, who was disappointingly quiet throughout, struck his first time volley off target.
Following that Liverpool had another let off as Ben Tozer headed straight at Jones after reaching a corner kick. It was a massive chance for the away side and, at the time, he must have contemplated the possibility that he had just forfeited an historic victory for his side.
The home side then foraged forward themselves as Martin Kelly's shot deflected off Holt and behind for a corner after the England Under-21 International had played a one-two with Jovanovic.
Pacheco's set piece was only cleared as far as Spearing, however his shot was annoyingly blocked. Pacheco had a go himself inside injury time however he couldn't grab a winner as the game progressed into 30 minutes of extra time after his shot had rolled wide.
Liverpool huffed and puffed during the opening stages of extra time but they couldn't manage to seriously trouble Northampton. Ngog's shot cannoned off a defender and Eccleston's attempted curler went wide as the home side still lacked penetration and imagination.
And, after 100 minutes of League Cup football, Liverpool fell behind to Thornton's side-footed strike following yet another dangerous attack from the away side. Their players celebrated with bravado in front of a stunned Kop whilst their supporters went hysterical.
It was no more then they deserved though as they had dominated the majority of the match making us look very ordinary in the process.
Liverpool finally showed signs of purpose in their play during the second half of extra time as they realised that they were staring down the barrel of an embarrassing and humiliating defeat that would tar their careers for the duration of their professional lives.
Two minutes into the final period of play Ngog chested Kelly's cross down before his shot was blocked. The resulting corner was flicked goalwards by captain for the night Sotirios Kyrgiakos however keeper Dunn reached the ball before Agger to deny the Dane a chance to draw the home side level.
On 111 minutes Lucas was inches away from equalising as his strike from the edge of the box beat Dunn but went just wide of the post as Liverpool started to feel like it just wasn't going to happen for them.
Kelly volleyed wide before Spearing shot off target as Liverpool pressed the tiring away side. The hosts eventually took one of their chances as Nathan Eccleston won a corner with time running out.
Jonjo Shelvey, who was the only player who displayed any sort of potential on the night, centred the ball into the area where it was flicked on by Kyrgiakos to Ngog. The Frenchman turned it home with his head to earn a penalty shootout for the relieved Redmen.
Ngog's goal may have earned Liverpool a chance from the spot, however Hodgson also had some goalline heroics from Martin Kelly to thank as the young right back did tremendously well to clear on the line with only minutes remaining after the ball had been fired goalwards following a dreadful error from Brad Jones.
The penalty shootout gave the players a chance to save our blushes and, considering our almost German like efficiency from the spot, most supporters were confident of victory.
However, the Reds youngsters called upon to take the kicks had never experienced this level of pressure before, and that pressure eventually led to Nathan Eccleston smashing his spot kick against the bar, handing the visitors match point.
Northampton Town's Abdul Osman coolly converted the last penalty to grab an extraordinary victory for the League Two outfit and submit Liverpool to our worst defeat since the 2-1 loss away to Worcester City (my hometown!) 52 years ago.
I found a quote on Mark Brown's Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/#!/MarkBrown.page?ref=ts) today that, despite Mark having no affinity to Liverpool or affection for the beautiful game, summed up our defeat perfectly.
"Ambition without talent is tragic, but talent without ambition is obscene."
There is no doubt that some talented footballers took to the Anfield turf last night.
Ryan Babel, Milan Jovanovic, Sotirios Kyrgiakos and Daniel Agger all went to the World Cup and all started last night's match.
Daniel Pacheco set the 2010 European Under-19 Championships alight as he scored four goals to claim the tournament's golden boot award in the process of helping Spain to reach the final of the competition.
Lucas Leiva has represented Brazil, Martin Kelly has scored for England's Under-21s and Danny Wilson won the SPL with Rangers at the tender age of 18.
There was definitely sufficient quality for us to be able to comfortably beat Northampton.
However, infuriatingly the heart, the passion, the purpose and the ambition that usually characterises this football club wasn't there last night.
And that, as Mark Brown so eloquently put it, is obscene.
YNWA
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