Rimmer has a lot more to do than stoop as Liverpool conquer

The mental and physical pacing involved in sustaining a real interest in three major competitions is worthy of a study in itself once Liverpool have either arranged the silverware to best advantage or consoled themselves with thoughts of what a marvellous collection they almost had. Perhaps a decade of success does mould a team unemotional enough to "take each match as it comes", to use a cliche grossly overworked among the footballing fraternity.

Certainly there was no hint of stresses tugging at their shirt sleeves in Liverpool's 2-0 beating of Arsenal at Anfield on Saturday, even with the second leg of the European Cup semi-final tie immediately ahead of them on Wednesday and the semi-final round of the FA Cup looming three days beyond it. They stepped confidently and comfortably back to the top of the championship, though Arsenal's intent seemed to be to tax their patience to the hilt; so many times was the ball rolled back to Rimmer that he seemed a prime candidate for the aches which afflict the average weekend gardener.

Rimmer soon had much more to do than stoop, however, and as Liverpool filed their claws it was largely because of his splendid goalkeeping that Arsenal escaped so lightly. The defence in front of him, not the securest of structures, needed to summon support which impoverished the flow of sustenance to the men in front. A hard early shot by Armstrong played bagatelle on Kennedy's knees and a firm, accurate header by Stapleton brought a glorious, leaping save from Clemence, but the day became increasingly unpromising from thereon.

Liverpool, admirably welded again at the back by Hughes and Smith, the seasoned "hard man" who has returned to the side so successfully, naturally began to find themselves with a lot of room in the middle territory. McDermott and Kennedy made excellent use of it and Case, not the speediest of players but already recognised as possessing one of the hardest shots in the game, regularly came up behind the front line with his heavy artillery. He was distinctly unfortunate twice with shots which in turn clipped the bar and whistled an inch or so wide; a fine save by Rimmer, just one of his splendid moments, also denied Case, a deserved mention on the scoresheet.

Keegan and Heighway meanwhile led the probing for Arsenal's tender spots, though it was a 30-yard shot from Neal, with the help of an unpremeditated nudge on the way, which gave Liverpool their first goal after 20 minutes. The second was delayed until a quarter of an hour from the end; Heighway supplied Johnson, who made room for a shot which was brilliantly parried by Rimmer, but Keegan pounced in hungrily to drive the ball in. There could have been three or four more even after that.

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