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Steve Bruve reverted back to a 4-4-2 formation following his recent dabble with a modified 4-3-3 system. In the only change from the side that started against Chelsea, Morrison came in for Geoff Horsfield to partner Christophe Dugarry up front, whilst Stan Lazaridis and Damien Johnson offered the width either side of a central midfield occupied by Clemence and Robbie Savage.
Blues started with a high tempo, and had their first real chance after just 30 seconds when Lazaridis headed over from about 10 yards out when he really should have done better. Blues continued to press, and whilst Liverpool had a long range effort from Jamie Carragher, it was the home side who created the better opportunities, with both Dugarry and Jeff Kenna firing over when well placed in the area.
After 34 minutes, Blues took the lead through Clemence - whose dad Ray, ironically, is one of the founder members of the Anfield Hall Of Fame. The instrumental Savage whipped in a dangerous free-kick from the left, and whilst Liverpool would have been worried about the likes of Dugarry and Matthew Upson, it was the somewhat lesser figure of Clemence who stole in to power a header past Jerzy Dudek.
Liverpool were forced to press harder for an equaliser now, yet didn't really pose Nico Vaesen any problems. Vaesen himself was particularly dominant at set-pieces throughout the proceedings, coming and collecting corner after corner, and really emphasising the rather bewildering decision to recall Ian Bennett a month or so ago. Blues, meanwhile, were determined to hang on for a half time lead, and eventually, that was what they did.
The second half began in much the same vein as the first, with Blues having more possession, and both teams only really creating half chances. However, both sides did have strong penalty appeals turned down by referee Clive Wilkes with Lazaridis involved in both. The Australian appeared to make contact only with Bruno Cheyrou at the one end, yet was bundled over in the area himself a few minutes later, so with neither penalty being given, perhaps justice was done.
Blues doubled their lead on 68 minutes through Morrison - a man with a bit of history with Liverpool. Following comments two years ago, whilst at Crystal Palace, suggesting that he could teach Michael Owen a thing or two about finishing, Morrison was booed at Anfield when playing for Palace in a 5-0 home win, and was jeered each time he missed a chance. However, in September, he scored hid first goals for Blues at Anfield to pull back a 2-0 deficit and earn Blues a 2-2 draw, and again today he was a thorn in the side of the Anfield men, netting Blues second. Lazaridis broke away down the left and exchanged passes with Dugarry, before driving in a low cross for the Irish striker to turn home and spark scenes of jubilation in the stands.
Liverpool had by now introduced Owen as a substitute, and typically the England striker manager to end a personal goal drought at St Andrews after 77 minutes. Kenny Cunningham and Upson - who had both been otherwise superb - left the ball to one another, and with Vaesen exposed, Owen nicked in to knock the ball home and ensure a nervous final quarter of an hour for the home side.
Darren Carter, Geoff Horsfield and Paul Devlin were all introduced as substitutes, and all did a good job in seeing the remaining time off - Horsfield in particular held the ball up well, and waste plenty of time. Liverpool failed to create many real threats on goal despite Owen, Emile Heskey, Milan Baros and Neil Mellor - all strikers - being on the pitch, and Blues held on to record their first league win since beating Fulham away way back in mid-December.
Blues desperately needed three points, and got them in an excellent manner. The performance from each and every player was superb, and despite Liverpool struggling of late, there's still a lot of quality to contend with when you're up against them. This win puts another bit of breathing space between Blues and the drop-zone and, perhaps less importantly, sets them up nicely for a certain trip to Villa Park in 8 days time - especially considering their opponents on that day's result yesterday too.
PLAYER RATINGS:
Vaesen - Excellent handling
Kenna - Struggled early on but got better
Clapham - Solid
Cunningham - Superb except for slip-up for goal
Upson - Strong and athletic but also at fault for Owen strike
Johnson - Committed
Savage - Hugely influential
Clemence - Another excellent all-round display
Lazaridis - One of his best games
Morrison - Scored a key goal and worked tremendously hard
Dugarry - Sheer class... again...
SUBS:
Carter - Put himself about
Horsfield - Offered a good outlet
Devlin - Chased hard for 3 or 4 minutes