Gerrard fires comeback Reds

A Craig Bellamy brace and a Steven Gerrard goal saw Liverpool come from behind to beat Newcastle and rise to fifth in the table.

Reds come from behind thanks to Bellamy brace and Gerrard goal

A Craig Bellamy brace and a Steven Gerrard goal saw Liverpool come from behind to beat Newcastle and rise to fifth in the table. The Magpies took the lead on 25 minutes when Daniel Agger deflected Yohan Cabaye's header into his own net. But Bellamy notched the equaliser four minutes later before putting the Reds ahead on 67 minutes with a long-range free-kick. Talismanic skipper Gerrard - on only his second appearance after two months out with an ankle infection - came off the bench to slot home from a tight angle with 12 minutes remaining to seal the victory. Kenny Dalglish's side had drawn four of the last five at Anfield, where they have dropped 12 points so far this season, and for an hour it appeared that run would continue. The night was supposed to be all about Liverpool's record signing, Andy Carroll, who was given the role of main striker against his former club in the absence of the suspended Luis Suarez, but the big centre-forward again came up short. Playing as a lone front man, he struggled for support, especially in the first half, and was often found out of position as he chased the ball. His best chance came in the latter stages of the match when he crashed a header against the crossbar from close range. But, fortunately for Carroll, former Newcastle man Bellamy's eye for goal was a lot sharper to ensure Liverpool - undoubtedly helped by a 31-minute cameo from Gerrard - came from behind to win a match which looked like a struggle at times.

Typical example

The story of Liverpool's six home draws this season has been one of failing to take chances and the first one created in the 15th minute was a typical example. Former Magpies left-back Jose Enrique drilled a cross through the six-yard area, but Stewart Downing was moving away from goal rather than towards it and the ball rolled to safety. Charlie Adam fired a 35-yard shot over while Downing drew Tim Krul into a save low at his left-hand post. Newcastle then took the lead in odd circumstances in the 25th minute. Haris Vuckic was walking towards the bench having been hit in the face by Glen Johnson's clearance, but Newcastle played on and, when Ryan Taylor swung in a cross from the left, Cabaye headed on only for Agger to inadvertently divert the ball past Jose Reina under pressure from Demba Ba. However, within four minutes Liverpool were level through Bellamy. Cheick Tiote cleared Adam's cut-back from the right of the penalty area to Bellamy, who drove through a crowd of players from 16 yards. The home side picked up the tempo and Downing's volley was blocked by Jonas Gutierrez, while Martin Skrtel flashed a header just wide of the far post from Bellamy's corner.

Second period

Early in the second half, Cabaye was lucky to escape punishment after catching Jay Spearing with a late tackle. Gerrard replaced Adam just before the hour and the captain's first involvement was to whip in a near-post cross which almost picked out Carroll. When the England midfielder did find the unmarked striker in yards of space in the penalty area, the £35million signing's first touch let him down badly and Krul gratefully gathered. Carroll played a decoy role in Liverpool's second goal, but the decisive move came from Danny Simpson. As Bellamy lined up a 67th-minute free-kick, the Newcastle defender decided to back-track to the goalline, allowing Carroll to advance towards Krul. When the set-piece came in, Simpson got in the way of his goalkeeper and the ball crept between the two of them. However, Newcastle would have equalised three minutes later when Ba clipped a narrow-angle shot over Reina - only for the back-tracking Skrtel to clear just inches from the goalline. Despite Carroll's best efforts, he seemed destined not to score when his header rebounded off the crossbar, while Bellamy then departed, with blood pouring from a cut above his left eye after a clash with Coloccini for the rebound, to be replaced by Dirk Kuyt for the final 16 minutes. Gerrard popped up with a trademark third goal in the 78th minute, when he ran from deep to collect Henderson's through-ball and side-foot an angled shot past Krul from the left of the penalty area. It capped an improved second-half performance and helped ease some of the frustration which had been building up at Anfield, while Alan Pardew needs to arrest Newcastle's slide after just one win in eight.

Liverpool	Team Statistics	Newcastle United
3	Goals	1
1	1st Half Goals	1
4	Shots on Target	1
9	Shots off Target	3
3	Blocked Shots	0
7	Corners	0
7	Fouls	11
4	Offsides	2
0	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
81	Passing Success	79.4
19	Tackles	16
68.4	Tackles Success	62.5
51.4	Possession	48.6
56.7	Territorial Advantage	43.3
484	Total Passes	485
35	Total Crosses	7
156	Lost Balls	161
62	Recoveries	58
58.8	1st Half Poss.	41.2
43.9	2nd Half Poss.	56.1