Bournemouth vs. Liverpool: Final score 0-2, Reds flatter to deceive but go through regardless

Liverpool secured a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win against Bournemouth at Dean Court thanks to goals from Victor Moses and Daniel Sturridge, but the game didn’t go entirely to plan. With Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson in central midfield, the visitors weren’t exactly sturdy, and as a result Bournemouth had far more of the ball -- and in dangerous areas -- than might have been expected of a Championship side hosting the Premier League’s fourth-place team.

For the majority of the match, it looked as though it was Liverpool conducting a plucky upset. The hosts had them constantly pinned back, bombarding Brad Jones’ box with constant attacks, and were arguably unlucky not to have gone ahead inside the first half hour. By that point, however, Victor Moses had the Reds 1-0 up.

It was a bit of a strange goal. Luis Suarez hit a long pass from the right side to Moses, and although it didn’t look as though the on-loan winger was in position to do much with the ball, a deft touch set him up for a slightly scuffed near post shot which caught Lee Camp by surprised and squirmed into the net.

Bournemouth’s response was to increase the pressure, with Andrew Surman and Lewis Grabban particularly impressive as they maurauded forward. But for all of their intent, they were failing to make the most of their possession in dangerous areas, and the one time they did have a good look on goal Kolo Toure managed to deflect Surnam’s shot high and wide.

The hosts’ best chance to get back to level terms came early in the second half, when Martin Skrtel went down with a head injury and forced Gerrard to drop into the back line. But a penalty shout aside when Elliot Ward tangled with Martin Kelly aside, they didn’t have the quality to force a goal, and eventually they would be punished for their swashbuckling play.

Suarez was again the creator, this time exploiting Bournemouth’s high line to slip Danny Sturridge through on goal. The England international rarely makes mistakes from that sort of position, and he finished smartly past Camp to double the Reds’ advantage.

Liverpool could finally relax, and Sturridge nearly put a bow on the performance with an audacious long-range lob that beat Camp but bounced back off the top of the crossbar rather than finishing the job. But at 2-0, Bournemouth’s defensive structure was fatally compromised and their attack lacked any conviction; the visitors were able to see out remainder of the match in comfortable fashion.

Goals: Moses 26’.