Fowler provides safe passage

Liverpool will need to move up a gear, or two, in the semi-final of the Cup Winners' Cup if they are to beat the likes of Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain or Fiorentina. The eventual 4-1 aggregate score against SK Brann, from Bergen, was impressive enough, but Liverpool continue to be, at the highest level, an unpredictable force.

Robbie Fowler added two more goals to his spectacular effort in the first leg retrospectively the key moment in the whole tie while Stan Collymore, Liverpool's odd man out, came on as substitute for Berger after an hour and scored with a shin deflection within two minutes of his arrival on the pitch. Between the goals, Liverpool had looked good, but seldom brilliant.

Kjell Tennfjord, the Brann coach, was critical of Liverpool's first two goals, counting them as lucky: an opinion justified on the second, though the Italian referee appeared to be quite correct with his award of a penalty to Fowler for the first.

On the other hand, the boast by Tennfjord, that the best of Norwegian club football is equivalent to the best of England, was left sounding uncomfortably hollow. Liverpool exposed Bergen for what they are: defensive, fit and fast, but tactically and technically limited.

The only period of anxiety for Liverpool came in the 15 minutes before half-time, when Brann might have snatched an invaluable away goal. Wright and his rearguard held firm, though. Yet, here was another performance by Liverpool that begs questions for the future. The defence is less than assured against the best opposition, and Wright and Ruddock have limited days ahead of them. Barnes, for all his marvellous technique, is losing pace, being forced ever deeper to find time and space, as happens to all ageing midfield players.
Tennfjord spoke highly of Redknapp as being Liverpool's best player and worthy of inclusion in the national team. "He produces the unexpected," Tennfjord said. Yet Redknapp remains frustratingly uneven in his play, at times giving the impression of coasting, protected by his skill.

The most urgent dilemma for Roy Evans, the Liverpool manager, in the pursuit of silverware is his strike force. Berger, the Czech Republic international, playing in behind Fowler, lacked the finishing touch to exploit the chances and half-chances that came his way. He lacks the refinement for playing up front. Collymore, his replacement, was given a rapturous welcome from the terraces, especially by the Kop. At odds with his employers, Collymore rewarded his friends with a goal, yet it remains unlikely that Evans will keep faith with this moody forward, unless Collymore should become transformed in attitude and performance during the rest of the season.

Briefly at the start, Brann made the running and the crowd momentarily had to hold its breath as Skjaelaaen pounded into the penalty area from the right of midfield to meet a sharp cross from Hasund. Happily for Liverpool, Skjaelaaen failed to make contact.
Soon Redknapp was forcing the opposition back, his hooked, looping cross-field pass falling neatly for McManaman, who was blocked ten yards out. After a quarter of an hour, there were loud cries from the stands for a penalty when Ludvigsen seemed to handle the ball as Redknapp swept past him.

As in the first leg, Brann played with nine men behind the ball when Liverpool were in possession, and paid the penalty for their smothering tactics after 26 minutes. Fowler, darting between the central defenders, as McManaman and Barnes again worked the ball free, was brought down from behind by Moen. His penalty kick made the art look so simple.

At this point, 2-1 up on aggregate and in command all over the pitch, Liverpool should have moved out of reach. Instead, they struggled for 15 minutes to hold off a Brann revival, and were lucky when Skjaelaaen, receiving the ball 14 yards out as James punched a cross from Flo straight to his feet, badly mis-hit his shot at a deserted goal.

The second half saw Liverpool moving in the right direction again. Collymore, with his second touch of the ball, swerved past two defenders and was accelerating towards goal when Ludvigsen, attempting an interception, knocked the ball against the striker's shin from where it flew into the corner of the net. Fowler made sure of the outcome when he swept home Bjornebye's pass.

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