Redemption for Gerrard as Liverpool turn heat on Allardyce

Furious United boss Sam Allardyce kept his players locked in their dressing- room for an hour after the match for an inquest into their shoddy performance.

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Steven Gerrard celebrates his stunning strike that gave Liverpool a first-half lead

Thrashed 4-1 by Portsmouth in their last home game, here it could have been worse. When substitute Ryan Babel made it 3-0 with 24 minutes left, the home fans were chanting "You don't know what you're doing" and "Big Sam for England".

"I had to point a few things out where I think the problems lie and sometimes right after the game is the best time to do it," said Allardyce. "We've basically gone out and not done the job. We're in a difficult period and that escalated into two very disappointing performances and defeats here at St James", which is the wrong sort of place to get them.

"We have to put that right as soon as possible.We have to make sure we dig ourselves out of this predicament. We've hit rock bottom and only we can get ourselves out of it.

"We'll try to do that by getting as many players fit as we can and showing a lot more grit and determination to acquire a result. That was missing today,particularly after the second goal went in, which was particularly disappointing from my point of view."

But this game was all about Gerrard. On Wednesday night at Wembley, the Liverpool captain may have been so guilty of the same depressing defects that gripped Newcastle here,he almost qualified for a black and white shirt.

When he grabbed his jacket yesterday after being substituted by England team-mate Peter Crouch 10 minutes from the end, Gerrard could look back on a job done so well that it merely added to the frustration at his contribution against Croatia.

This was an action man performance and earned what, by Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez's standards,was rapturous praise.

"He played really well," said the Liverpool boss. "He has a very good mentality, a strong character and passion for this club, which is important in football. Hopefully it will be the same in the next games."

Booed by a Geordie crowd still hurting from England's ignominious European Championship dismissal,Gerrard began what should have been a onesided rout with a blistering 25-yard shot in the 27th minute after Lucas Leiva had rolled a short free-kick into his path.

Significantly, he raced towards the large contingent of Liverpool fans to acknowledge their cheers — for them he can do no wrong.

He took the corner that led to Dirk Kuyt scoring a fortunate second a minute after half-time, and his breathtaking one-two with Ryan Babel paved the way for the Dutch midfielder to make it three in the 66th minute.

If Fernando Torres had cashed in on a small percentage of the opportunities supplied by his skipper, he would have ended his Premier League scoring drought away from home with a hatful of goals. To say he should have a hattrick is a massive understatement.

"It was a sweet strike," was how Gerrard described his own goal. "I'm a bit disappointed we didn't win a lot easier."

And he acknowledged that while the memory of England's disastrous defeat is still fresh in the minds of fans,he and his Wembley team-mates could be in for a hard time.

"I expect we'll get booed," he added. "We let the country down by not qualifying so from now until we get it right, we're going to have to take some stick. We've just got to get on with it and play through it."

Fortunately for Gerrard, it did not take long for the Toon Army to redirect their disfavour. Both at the interval and especially the end of the game, it was their own players who were the targets for their booing. That was understandable. Shay Given, fresh from switching on the City's Christmas lights during the week, must have wished for a floodlight failure to turn off the Liverpool power. As it was, he denied Torres on the occasions the Spain forward managed to hit the target.

It could hardly have been a gesture of mercy when Benitez took Gerrard off. It is not part of the Liverpool manager's make-up to spare opposition further punishment.

Liverpool have a vital Champions League qualifier against Porto at Anfield on Wednesday and he needs the kind of impetus and leadership that Gerrard provided here if they are to reach the knock-out stages against all the odds.