Heskey breaks goal drought

13 April 2012

Emile Heskey emerged from a two-month barren spell in a way that reminded Liverpool why they paid £11million for him two years ago.

The England front-runner's laboured efforts to add a cutting edge to his other commendable qualities have been painful to watch. He has blazed high and wide on countless occasions, located the goalkeeper's legs in many a one-on-one and even managed the odd air shot with the goal at his mercy.

The suffering finally ended against his old club with a combination of pace, power and poise at odds with the hesitancy and uncertainty that had gone before.

It arrived in the 57th minute, and while there was some luck about its inception, the rest was Heskey at his bulldozing best.

There was little to warn Leicester of the impending danger as a Matt Jones pass cannoned off Dietmar Hamann into the path of Heskey, fully 40 yards out and with Jacob Laursen and Matt Elliott barring his route to goal.

Both central defenders were left trailing as Heskey burst clear of flailing Leicester boots and calmly lifted the ball over the advancing Ian Walker.

After scoring only once in 35 appearances - a headed winner against Sunderland on November 25 - the sense of relief was almost tangible as he wheeled away before being mobbed by his team-mates.

It may have been an isolated moment of inspiration in what was otherwise a night of mediocrity from both sides, but its significance could be far reaching, according to Phil Thompson, Liverpool's caretaker manager. Thompson said:'I have said before that when you are struggling to score, you will settle for any scrappy goal, anything that bobbles over the line.Yet Emile's pace and composure were outstanding, and you would expect him to draw confidence from that. As a striker, you get a buzz from scoring, and it will do him the world of good.

'Everything about tonight could prove massively important for us. With the other leading teams winning, we had to get the right result and it was also an occasion when the fans played a key part.' After giving Michael Owen a breather on the bench and seeing his reshaped strike force of Heskey and Nicolas Anelka hit a brick wall in the shape of the commanding Elliott, Thompson was as relieved as anyone to see Leicester's resistance breached at last.

For all their frenzied attempts at finding a way through, there was no escaping the telling statistic that Walker's routine catch from Sami Hyypia's 55th-minute header was his first save of the night.

Not that Leicester were able to make much impression as an attacking force themselves. A Jones shot that curled just wide in the 29th minute and close-range efforts from Elliott that Stephane Henchoz deflected over provided their only chances.

There was still no consoling manager Dave Bassett, though, as he reflected on the way Jones lost possession for the goal and fumed: 'We were on for a point at least until he decided to do his song and dance routine in midfield.'

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