Riise high but Anfield low

Gérard Houllier's absence from this contest was attributed to gastroentiritis. It would be facile to say some of his players didn't have much stomach for it either. But there is decidedly more to Liverpool's current malaise than that, because you could hardly fault the attitude of individuals here. The desire demonstrated by Michael Owen, John Arne Riise and Dietmar Hamann was, on the whole, admirable.

But the fact is Liverpool concluded a week in which they had already been embarrassed by an average Nationwide side, Crystal Palace, in the FA Cup, by failing to defeat a side who have become professional losers away from the Riverside. Before yesterday, Boro had lost their last eight League games on their travels without scoring. They travel as well as British holidaymakers faced with foreign cuisine.

Houllier had referred beforehand to a "difficult" period, which was perhaps understating things considering this was a seventh Premiership game here without victory, the club's worst run at home since 1955. There are suggestions that the legend This Is Anfield has been replaced by Welcome To All Ye Who Enter Here. Since that last home Premiership victory against West Ham just before Guy Fawkes night, when Liverpool were at the summit of the Premiership, they have been eliminated from the Champions' League and the FA Cup, while the championship is a fast-receding ambition.

So, why it is going so wrong? Of course, they lacked the drive of the suspended Steven Gerrard. But Houllier's men were too predictable at times; at others, their passing was frustratingly wayward, and their finishing was lamentable. Boro also enjoyed a fortune that all teams who avoid defeat need here. Yet, having seen their lead, established by Géremi's sweet free-kick, negated by John Arne Riise's equaliser, they might have actually still won the game. That would just about have had Phil Thompson, the Liverpool assistant, requiring medical treatment, too.

Thompson, deputising for Houllier, declared: "It would have been an absolute travesty if we had not got something out of the game. When that free-kick [Géremi's] went in, I sat there thinking, 'What's going on?' I felt for the players and the fans. It was so frustrating for everybody." Whatever the reasons, Owen's dearth of goals is a serious concern. True, he has scored 16 this season, but more pertinently he has only amassed four in the last 18 starts. Here, the England striker performed well creatively, fashioning Riise's goal, but when his one serious goalscoring invitation materialised he was found wanting.

Injuries and new signings saw Steve McClaren make six changes from the side defeated 5-2 at home by Aston Villa. They included two of his four new acquisitions, Michael Ricketts and Chris Riggott. The others, Malcolm Christie and John Eustace, appeared in the second half.

In a soporific first half Mark Schwarzer, the Australian goalkeeper who expects to face England on Wednesday, was not troubled by Riise's volley, nor Heskey's stooping header which cleared the bar. But as Liverpool found their range Sami Hyypia's neck muscles turned a Riise cross into a powerful header, which just eluded a post.

Boro's attacking was limited, but their best play flowed from Jonathan Greening. In that first half, Middlesbrough only had a third of the possession and one attempt at goal. It was the one that counted. Eight minutes from the break, Greening was brought down by Hyypia just outside the area. Géremi curled his free-kick just inside Jerzy Dudek's post. Silence, apart from the visiting supporters, who had to clear their eyes. An apparition, surely.

Owen should have equalised. Unforgivably, he failed even to direct his header on target when Hamann's centre found the England striker free of the visitors' defence.

After the interval, Milan Baros replaced Heskey, while the former Derby striker Christie came on for Joseph-Desiré Job. Owen forced Schwarzer into a finger-tip save as Liverpool's urgency grew, while the crowd appealed for everything going. There was a suspicion of handball in the area by Gareth Southgate when El Hadji Diouf crossed, but referee Steve Bennett rightly refused the penalty claims.

Finally, with 19 minutes left, pressure told. Owen beat two players on the left and slid the ball across to Riise to do what he does best from 10 yards out. Schwarzer beat the ball away when the Norwegian nearly did the same again nine minutes later.

Boro held on, with 35-year-old Colin Cooper a wonderful advert for veteran defenders. The visitors could still have won it when Géremi and Ricketts queued up to unleash close-range efforts, but Dudek defied them both. In the process, Ricketts' shirt was clearly held by substitute Salif Diao. But visitors don't get too many penalties in front of the Kop. An away goal then really would have had Thompson foaming at the mouth. It wouldn't have done much for Houllier's digestive system, either.

Liverpool 1
Riise 74

Middlesbrough 1
Géremi 38

Half-time: 0-1 Attendance: 42,247