Premier League review:Liverpool lost ground on the top four as their leaky defence and a failure to capitalise on numerous opportunities cost them victory as they played out a 1-1 draw in the late kick-off against Norwich at Anfield.
Kenny Dalglish’s side hit the woodwork three times among several other chances but had only Craig Bellamy’s late first-half goal against his former club to show for their efforts.
And a side which has kept only two clean sheets all season should have known what was coming as a result.
They were punished on the hour when Grant Holt headed home just three minutes after coming off the bench to spoil what would have been a perfect story for Bellamy on his first Liverpool start since May 2007.
Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy was delighted to take the after he twice brilliantly denied Luis Suarez, once when he tipped a first half effort on to the post and then in the dying seconds when he diverted a volley out for a corner.
“I’m just delighted with the point. I’m pleased to make it (the final save from Suarez)," he told ESPN. “The lads were tremendous, in the second half we were a different animal.”
Holt added: “I thought we rode our luck a little bit in the first half. The manager’s put a belief in us that we just keep going. The lads have done fantastic and we’ve worked hard.”
Newcastleare now four ahead of fifth-placed Liverpool after remaining unbeaten in nine when they won 1-0 at home to Wigan Athletic, courtesy of a fine finish from Yohan Cabaye.
With five wins and four draws, the Toon are one of only three undefeated teams left in the league - the other two being the Manchester giants - but this win was hardfought and the visitors will feel short-changed from their trip north that leaves them bottom of the table.
Hugo Rodallega could have put them ahead in the first half but failed to take advantage when put clear.
Alan Pardew's men almost went ahead after 50 minutes when Demba Ba met Ryan Taylor's left-wing cross with a flashing header but Ali Al Habsi gathered well in the Wigan goal.
Cabaye, however, took his chance with 10 minutes to go when there was nothing the Al Habsi could do to prevent the winner, the first goal of the Frenchman's Newcastle's career.
Two goals in the last eight minutes saw Sunderlandclaim a vital 2-0 victory at Bolton.
Stephane Sessegnon produced a crisp finish eight minutes from time before Nicklas Bendtner sealed the points in stoppage time at the Reebok Stadium.
Bolton had more of the game but it was the Black Cats who went ahead with less than 10 minutes to go after the hosts failed to clear the ball in the area. Chris Eagles lost his footing, allowing Sessegnon to turn smartly and slot the ball home.
Sessegnon then turned provider, running at the Trotters' defence and then slotting a ball through for an unmarked Bendtner who calmly converted.
A contentious midlands derby between Aston Villaand West Bromended 2-1 to the Baggies.
Darren Bent missed a golden chance to put Villa ahead early on when he found himself unmarked eight yards from goal and shot over.
However, he kept his nerve later on to convert the spot-kick awarded when Ben Foster felled Gabriel Agbonlahor midway through the half after he pounced on indecision between the keeper and Steven Reid.
Bent stepped up and put the penalty into the bottom-left corner.
Albion squandered a golden opportunity to level in the 36th minute when they were gifted a penalty. It appeared to have been awarded after a clash between Chris Herd and Jonas Olsson which saw the linesman flag, but it seemed very harsh.
Brunt blazed the ball well wide from the spot, but made amends by providing the corner from which Olsson headed home a minute before the break.
The Baggies then went ahead 12 minutes after half-time when Paul Scharner showed great agility to hook home a left-footed shot from Brunt's outswinging corner.
In the early kick-off at Molineaux, Wolvesmanager Mick McCarthy was staring down the barrel of a sixth straight defeat but a Kevin Doyle goal and a Jamie O'Hara strike meant the hosts took a point from a game bossed by their visitors Swanseafor 80 minutes.
The turnaround was almost as dramatic as that in the mood of the Wolves fans, who booed their team at halftime and their manager when he decided to remove Adam Hammill and Matt Jarvis in an attempt to adjust his tactics.
Both had looked lively without being incisive, but the bold change paid off as Doyle prodded home a rebound in the 84th minute and set-up an advanced O'Hara two minutes later to cancel out goals from Danny Graham and Joe Allen.
For Swansea, it was the first away point of the season, but they will leave Wolverhampton knowing three were there for the taking.
“It’s not for me to discuss," said McCarthy afterwards of the crowd's reaction. “Let’s just emphasise all the positives, all the nonsense that goes on we’ll deal with that another time.”
On what brought his side back into the match, he added: “The half-time team talk I’d like to think helped, the lads who came on helped the game in the second half.”
Swansea boss Brendan Rogers was keen to focus on the positives of his side’s display.
“For 80 minutes were were outstanding,” he said. “Maybe we just went backwards with our passing too much. We need to manage the game better but I have to give massive credit to the players. Congratulations to Mick, they got back into it, they got their point.”
Doyle admitted Wolves "were as low as we could be to be honest at half-time". He added on Sky Sports 2: “We’ve lost five in a row and it looked like we were going to lose six, but we came back. It’s a massive point for us.
“Everyone’s high as a kite after being down in the dumps after 84 minutes.”
