False Alarm

Yossi Benayoun's natural hat trick propelled Liverpool from a 2-1 deficit to a 5-2 victory today in the 4th Round of the FA Cup.

Havant and Waterlooville jumped out to a 1-0 lead at Anfield after just eight minutes, and the Blue Square South side went back ahead 2-1 on a Martin Skrtel own goal just after the half-hour mark.

Benayoun then scored three in a row for Liverpool and Peter Crouch added an insurance tally in the 90th minute to put the game in the bag and send the Reds into the last 16 of the world's oldest and most prestigious cup competition.

Personally, I was hoping Havant and Waterlooville could pull off the stunner and win today. I wrote about how I believe changes need to be made at Liverpool just after their 2-2 draw against Aston Villa earlier in the week and to me, this is exactly the type of game that will hinder progress being made on Merseyside. Fans will look at the scoreline and say "Wow, five goals, our boys made it look easy out there" and proceed like nothing's wrong.

The reality of the situation is this. Liverpool were tied with a team full of part-timers at halftime. Yes, they ended up winning, but that's what they were supposed to do anyway and in impressive fashion. I know that the team Rafa put on the field wasn't exactly a full-strength lineup, but surely they're better than being outplayed by a team in Blue Square South for the first half?

Upset of the Century?

My goodness. Say what you like about it being the FA Cup and it not mattering much to teams in the Premier League, but we could be seeing history today if Havant and Waterlooville can nick a goal in the second half of their FA Cup 4th Round tie at Liverpool. The last time a non-league team beat a top-flight opponent was back in the 1988-1989 season when Sutton United shocked Coventry City.

As I type this, the score is 2-2 in the 48th minute and the part-timers from Blue Square South actually have led this game on two occasions. Liverpool isn't exactly playing a full-strength side but they do have Torres, Carragher, and Gerrard available off the bench and a couple of regular first-team players in Mascherano, Finnan, and Benayoun starting.

Havant and Waterlooville are making a tidy profit from this game which could cover operating costs for literally a season or two, if not longer, and if they can force a replay, that would be hugely lucrative as well.

I'll keep you posted with updates on this game.