SOCCER: FBK Kaunas 1, Liverpool 3 Liverpool supporters have seen it all now. Most are still pinching themselves after witnessing their side claim the European Cup in May.
Some, perhaps unfairly, are doing likewise at the size of the £7 million fee paid to Southampton for Peter Crouch. But all reeled in disbelief at the sight of Jamie Carragher scoring a goal here last night.
The centre half's headed strike, his first in six years and six months and only the third of his career, helped establish a lead in this tie which should see Liverpool safely through to the third qualifying stage, though Carragher's reward was as unlikely as it was timely.
The holders had trailed for a brief period and, on an awkward surface against spirited opponents, had flirted with disaster before class told.
A two-goal advantage going into next week's return should prove sufficient to ensure progress. Rafael Benitez leaves the Baltic encouraged that, if he can prise a goal from Carragher, he is a miracle worker indeed.
There was a neat sub-plot to this contest which was presumably appreciated by the hosts' equivalent to Roman Abramovich. Vladimir Romanov's first entrepreneurial step as a youngster had been to sell Beatles records on the black market. Now, having amassed a personal fortune estimated at around £260 million and with his portfolio supplemented by a 29.9 per cent controlling stake in Hearts, the local-man-made-good has bankrolled FBK into becoming the dominant force of Lithuanian football over the last six years.
Ignominy threatened Liverpool for six minutes. The menace which had accompanied Kaunas's early breaks brought reward when Arturas Rimkevicius gathered from a throw-in and flummoxed the ponderous Sami Hyypia near the touchline. The striker tore towards the area and pulled back for Giedrius Barevicius, whose mis-hit shot wrong-footed Jose Reina and dribbled into the corner.
The goal was greeted with gleeful incredulity from the locals, and reality took its time to sink in as the fans, camped around half of this arena with the rest of the pitch flanked by trees, overcame unkind angles before realising the cross had been converted. They enjoyed the lead while it lasted, which was not for long.
Parity was eked from Boudewijn Zenden's looping cross which was nodded down by the debutant, his aerial dominance unchallenged. Mindaugas Baguzis could have cleared but, once he had dithered near the penalty spot, Djibril Cissé was able to spin and thump the equaliser into the corner.
Kaunas's spirit momentarily drained. While heads were down, Steven Gerrard's corner was headed down and in, remarkably, by Carragher. The defender had not scored since the 7-1 thrashing of Southampton in January 1999, adding to the sense of the surreal attending this occasion.
Cissé should have added a third before the interval, bursting on to Xabi Alonso's threaded pass and skimming his shot beyond Eduardas Kurskis, but Irmantas Zelmikas scrambled the ball from the line.
Though the Frenchman's volley drifted down and across the face of goal on the restart, Liverpool's dominance was maintained. The hapless Baguzis soon tripped a galloping Gerrard in the area and the captain dispatched the penalty himself with no little venom into the corner.
The England midfielder was replaced by another debutant, Mohamed Sissoko, within minutes with his job well and truly done.
A professional performance in the return next Tuesday and Liverpool, seeded and warming up nicely, will be one stage away from defending the Champions League proper.
FBK Kaunas: Kurskis, Zelmikas, Pacevicius (Vadim Petrenko 45), Kancelskis, Manchkhava, Barevicius (Papeckys 71), Rimkevicius, Klimek, Baguzis, Poderis, Tamosauskas (Maciulis 87). Subs Not Used: Kilijonas, Beniusis, Kunevicius, Kijanskas. Booked: Vadim Petrenko. Goals: Barevicius 21.
LIVERPOOL: Reina, Josemi, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise, Potter (Luis Garcia 63), Gerrard (Sissoko 60), Alonso, Zenden, Cisse, Crouch (Morientes 74). Subs Not Used: Dudek, Hamann, Warnock, Medjani. Booked: Zenden. Goals: Cisse 27, Carragher 30, Gerrard 54 pen.
Referee: Knud Fisker (Denmark).
