By Craig Turnbull
20 Mar 2011 16:45:00
Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool
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Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish was delighted with his side’s reaction to Thursday’s disappointment by beating Sunderland 2-0 at the Stadium of Light.
A Dirk Kuyt penalty and Luis Suarez wonder strike sealed the points for the visitors.
It now closes the gap on fifth-placed Tottenham to four points as they Reds strive to get into Europe next season.
And the Scot was pleased with the professionalism that won his side the game.
“Their attitude and commitment was what won us the game,” Dalglish told Sky Sports.
“The players had a difficult game on Thursday night that never went our way and it is credit to them that they picked themselves up and were really determined.
“They went out and stamped their authority on the game and we were deserved winners.”
Liverpool’s opener was steeped in controversy as the Reds were given a dubious penalty after the linesman had adjudged the foul to be inside the box on Jay Spearing but Dalglish refused to get drawn into the incident.
“It was a foul, I can’t see where I am standing whether it was in the box or outside but it was definitely a free kick,” Dalglish continued.
“So if it’s inside the box then it is a penalty.
“I felt we started well anyway, so whatever the penalty incident did to Sunderland was not really my concern.
“We kept playing and we defended, when we had to defend and tried to break as often as we could and we got our reward for that.”
Andy Carroll started his first game for Liverpool in the Premier League and the big striker had a great opportunity to open his account for his new club but he saw his powerful header cleared off the line by Lee Cattermole.
Nevertheless Dalglish was pleased with what he saw from the former Newcastle United striker and insisted that his partnership with other big name signing Luis Suarez will flourish.
“It was a great effort for him to play 90 minutes on Thursday and 70 minutes here,” Dalglish continued.
“He has not scored yet but he will score, he is a great asset, him and Luis [Suarez} linked up a couple of times, there is a lot to look forward to.”
