Andy Carroll was on target as Liverpool closed the gap on the top four with a comfortable 2-0 victory at West Brom on Saturday evening.

The towering No.9 struck his third goal of the campaign on the stroke of half-time after Charlie Adam had given the Reds an early lead from the penalty spot.

It put the seal on a superb overall display from Kenny Dalglish's men and means they now lie fifth, just one point behind third placed Chelsea, heading into next weekend's clash at home to Swansea City.

The pre-match rumour mill was spinning into overdrive as Liverpool arrived in the midlands for the tea-time kick-off at the Hawthorns.

The bombshell that the Reds would be without both Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher was greeted with shock by the travelling Kop, though the news that Carling Cup hero Suarez had shaken off a knock to start somewhat tempered the blow.

Back-to-back league draws meant Dalglish's men knew that victory was crucial if they were to maintain sight of the top four and the fact they were once again coming up against former boss Roy Hodgson added extra spice to this Halloween weekend encounter.

The Reds made a fast start too and twice carved out good openings inside 90 seconds.

First Suarez broke free of his man and looked set to race through only to be let down by that rarest of things: a poor first touch.

But the Uruguayan recovered his composure within an instant and teed up Charlie Adam 20 yards from goal only for the Scotland international to crash his first-time shot way over the crossbar.

The hosts responded with a free-kick that caused a minor ruffling of the feathers in Liverpool's defence before the Reds were awarded a hotly-disputed spot-kick on eight minutes.

Suarez attempted to exchange a one-two with Glen Johnson and as the No.7 wrestled for possession with Jerome Thomas, he appeared to be pushed to the floor.

The linesman flagged, leaving referee Lee Mason with no option but to point to the spot. The Albion players expressed their disdain for well over a minute before Adam stepped up to coolly send Ben Foster the wrong way and give Liverpool a lead their impressive opening deserved.

The Reds continued to look the more menacing as the half progressed and on 22 minutes Suarez was once again at the heart of an incisive move.

The diminutive attacker broke down the right flank and cut inside to deliver a probing cross that Carroll met with a header that was fortuitously deflected to safety.

There was a real flair and invention to some of the away team's approach play and another clever exchange between Jordan Henderson and Johnson ended with the full-back seeing his low cross diverted to safety by a desperate West Brom leg.

Suarez then showed that he was human after all with a 25-yard free-kick that flew harmlessly into the stand before he somehow managed to crash a close-range effort over the bar. Martin Skrtel, who was making his 100th Premier League appearance for the club, was left unmarked at a corner and when the ball broke to the Slovakia international he showed great awareness to pick out Suarez who fired over on the stretch.

Once again Liverpool were creating some gilt-edged opportunities but despite their dominance, they were given a warning on 40 minutes when Paul Scharner's long-range blockbuster was well blocked by Skrtel.

A second goal prior to the interval would have given the Reds the cushion their performance deserved and only some great defending by Jonas Olsson denied Carroll after some more sublime play by Suarez and Stewart Downing.

However, the signs were ominous for Hodgson's men and on the stroke of half-time the visitors broke with devastating effect.

Lucas Leiva seized upon possession just inside his own half and hit a delicious outside of the foot pass into the stride of Suarez on the right. The attacker looked up and caressed a perfectly-weighted ball to Carroll who held off his man before stabbing a low shot beyond the advancing Foster.

In truth, it was no more than Dalglish and co deserved for a slick first 45 but as the two teams returned for the second period it was the hosts who looked the more threatening.

Somen Tchoyi twisted and turned his way into space on the far right of the area before drilling in a low shot that had Reina scrambling.

At the other end, Suarez continued to pester the Baggies rearguard with his quick feet and industry but the clinical finish remained elusive as he blasted wide on two occasions.

On 57 minutes it looked like the striker was finally going to get his goal when Carroll unselfishly laid the ball into his path, but he saw his low drive brilliantly blocked inside the six-yard box.

It was almost turning into a one-man onslaught on the West Brom goal and even when he did manage to find the net with a sublime lob, the forward was denied his eighth of the campaign by the offside flag.

Eventually an opportunity did fall the way of another Liverpool player when Foster denied Jose Enrique a maiden strike in red with a fine fingertip stop.

And from the resulting corner Downing was left unmarked on the edge of the box but saw his low shot fizz right across a packed penalty area and two yards wide of the far post.

To their credit the home team had stepped up a level following the break and it least gave Reina some form of trouble when Steven Reid fired straight at the custodian from 30 yards.

However, the visitors clearly sensed that there were still goals in the game for them too and Carroll was unlucky to see his stinging effort beaten to safety by Foster.

The former Newcastle man was clearly enjoying playing alongside the energetic Suarez and he really should have had his second of the game on 70 minutes when he dragged well wide after a lightning break left two Liverpool players queuing up to score.

As the game entered injury-time Downing was denied his first for the Reds when his shot smashed against the near post, and despite a lack of icing on the cake, Dalglish would have been more than satisfied with the way his team had gone about securing a well-deserved return to winning ways.
 

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