MX23RW : Friday, November 8 01:43:15| >> :120:10513:10513:

On this day: Ipswich Town hit for six by Liverpool

Twelve years ago today, Michael Owen and Emile Heskey both scored braces as Liverpool beat Ipswich Town 6-0 at Portman Road.

Having failed to win any of their first four matches of 2002, Liverpool had seen their Premier League title challenge wilt.

However, a 1-0 victory over rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford, coupled with wins to nil at the expense of Leicester City and Leeds United, had seen the Reds re-enter the race by the time that they made the trip to Portman Road to take on Ipswich Town 12 years ago today.

Like the Merseysiders, Ipswich were riding the crest of a wave following seven victories from their previous eight outings. Such form meant that an evenly contested encounter was anticipated.

That prediction was torn up, though, as soon as Liverpool debutant Abel Xavier broke the deadlock in the 16th minute. The Portuguese defender failed to score in over two years with neighbours Everton, but he got off the mark for his new club when his shot deflected into the net via Ipswich's Chris Makin.

The away side continued to dominate proceedings, but it took them until the 43rd minute to score the second goal of the game. Steven Gerrard released Emile Heskey and the England international showed good composure to beat Andy Marshall.

Two became three eight minutes after the restart when Danny Murphy swung a corner into the Ipswich area, which was met by a header from Sami Hyypia that left Marshall little chance.

Michael Owen had been largely quiet up until that point, but the striker made an impact with two goals in the space of nine minutes.

His first arrived with 62 minutes on the clock when he finished off a passing move from close range that involved Gerrard and John Arne Riise, before he left John McGreal trailing in his wake to double his tally.

Further opportunities were then spurned, but there was still time for Liverpool to add a sixth in the 90th minute when Heskey completed his brace by firing in from the edge of the box.

Speaking after the match, Liverpool assistant manager Phil Thompson said: "The players gave a great display and their workrate was the most vital part. You can see the confidence flooding through the team."

Meanwhile, defeated manager George Burley added: "We were fortunate to get away with 6-0 as they created so many chances. We were overawed in the second half."

IPSWICH: Marshall; Makin, McGreal, Hreidarsson, Venus; Holland, Clapham, Wright (Stewart), Peralta; Armstrong (Magilton), M Bent

LIVERPOOL: Dudek (Arphexad); Wright, Henchoz, Hyypia, Xavier; Murphy, Hamann, Gerrard (McAllister), Riise (Anelka); Heskey, Owen

ID:136481: cacheID:136481:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4820:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Ipswich Town celebrate Marcus Stewart's goal at Anfield on December 10, 2000.
Read Next:
On this day: Ipswich win at Anfield
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
1.15am
Bengals
@
Ravens
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!