Baros cuts off Dowie's latest survival special

The Crystal Palace supporters have a word for it. "Bouncebackability", they chant, which may not be English but you know what they mean. Yesterday it was Liverpool, though, whose bungee rope proved to have the stronger rebound.

The Crystal Palace supporters have a word for it. "Bouncebackability", they chant, which may not be English but you know what they mean. Yesterday it was Liverpool, though, whose bungee rope proved to have the stronger rebound.

Or rather Milan Baros did. Just when it appeared that Palace, who had key players missing and had been behind twice, looked likely to gain an unlikely point on a ground where they have won only once, the Czech striker finally found the hammer to finish them off.

With a minute to go Baros was upended on the right of the Palace area by Danny Granville and sent his penalty low past Gabor Kiraly's dive to his right. The visitors, who had showed the survival instincts of Jerry The Mouse, had finally been trapped.

The goal completed a Baros hat-trick that included another penalty, took his tally for the season to 10 and ended a Palace revival that had seen them lose only one of their previous six Premiership matches. They scored through Joonas Kolkka and Michael Hughes but did not quite have enough to gain a draw.

Palace arrived at Anfield having taken seven points from nine and would have carried an air of confidence about them if they could have fielded their best team. That was not a luxury available to manager Iain Dowie, who had Fitz Hall missing from his defence and, more importantly, an attack deprived of eight-goal Andy Johnson.

It did not augur well for Palace and after 23 minutes Liverpool took the lead. Jamie Carragher had already been too sluggish to make the most of a Xabi Alonso pass when Dietmar Hamann polished another gem from the Spaniard with a glorious back- heel. Baros was free and about to strike when his legs were whipped away from him by the challenge of Mikele Leigertwood, the striker stroking the penalty into the bottom right-hand corner.

There followed a passage of play where Liverpool had the easy command of a side who believed they could score at any moment. Baros had another penalty claim turned down (although it could not have looked more of a dive if he had donned trunks and goggles) and Luis Garcia was buzzing like an irritated wasp, so it was not a surprise when a goal came, but it was a shock that it landed in the home net. There seemed little threat when Ben Watson played a ball to the left corner of the area but Kolkka lashed the volley past Chris Kirkland.

Liverpool regained the lead again within seconds. It was a goal straight along route one because Alonso played a free-kick to the right of the area, Harry Kewell showed a deft touch with a volley and Baros scored from a range of three yards. Three touches, 40 yards, one goal.

Baros had plagued the Palace back four and should have finished them off at the start of the second half. But he managed to handle after he had beaten his opponent and then he failed to make a proper connection on a volley.

Again Liverpool were purring and again they were about to be rudely disturbed. Watson is not the thoroughbred that Alonso is, but he is mightily effective and his darting run through the centre drew enough to him to give Kolkka space on the left. The Finn crossed and the less-than-enormous Hughes headed in from close range.

Liverpool mounted attacks with decreasing conviction but in the 89th minutes Kewell threaded a pass through to Baros and Palace's afternoon came to an unhappy end. Their bouncebackability had fallen just short.