Luton
1-1
Liverpool
John Arne Riise 77 (og)
Peter Crouch 74
The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON
Third Round Proper
4pm, Sunday 6 January 2008
Kenilworth Road
Winning clubs receive £40,000
The FA Live TV fee is £150,000 per club
Liverpool escaped from Kenilworth Road with a 1-1 draw after Luton showed the spirit that makes The FA Cup so special.
The home side, sitting four places off the foot of League One, made life very difficult for the Merseyside giants, and were unlucky not to send the Premiership side crashing out, despite going a goal behind against the run of play.
But John Arne Riise’s own goal to set up another money-spinning replay at Anfield was no more than the Hatters deserved.
They could have gone in front as early as the fourth minute with the best chance of the first half falling to David Edwards. The midfielder broke through onto a Matthew Spring pass but his shot was well saved by Charles Itandje.
Liverpool’s pace was evident in patches, but not enough to cause too many problems. Dirk Kuyt linked well with Peter Crouch to open up a chance each from the edge of the box, but while Kuyt’s first time shot went over, Crouch’s effort stung the hands of keeper Dean Brill.
Kuyt also had a header cleared from danger after Ryan Babel had picked up a loose corner on the edge of the Liverpool area before sprinting the full length of the pitch. He picked out the Dutchman at the far post, but the effort was weak.
Luton were restricted to counter-attacks, with Darren Currie looking for the long diagonal balls. His 20th minute pass, which picked out Drew Talbot, gave the forward a chance to run at Sami Hyypia. Beating the Finn on the byeline, he tried a cut back, but Itandje was down well to block with his foot.
Luton started to boss the match with their determination and looked like they enjoyed themselves. Talbot sneaked through late in the half, after snatching the ball from Finnan, but he lashed at his left foot effort from 20 yards, missing the goal by a long way.
Liverpool should have gone ahead with their first opportunity after the break. Xabi Alonso’s sublime turn on the halfway line sent two Luton players the wrong way. He carried the ball forward before feeding out to Kuyt on the right. His cross shot was met by a sliding Yossi Benayoun at the far post, but he couldn’t turn it home.
Moments later, the Israeli opened up space for a John Arne Riise special which rifled through the crowded box, but was saved wonderfully by a firm hand from the wrong-footed Brill.
At the other end, the Hatters also came close, but Talbot could only lie on the ground thinking what might have been after his six-yard header from Currie’s cross went over. Currie himself came close with a volley, but that flashed wide of the post.
Luton’s lack of composure in and around the box let Liverpool off the hook on more than one occasion, but when a mistake by Chris Coyne with just under 20 minutes left sent substitute Andrei Voronin through, Hatters’ hearts were in their mouths.
Brill did superbly yet again to deny the Ukrainian, but the ball fell kindly to Crouch who rolled home. The goal delighted the England man, who’s new international manager Fabio Capello was watching from the stand.
However, it took Luton just four minutes to get back on terms. Man of the Match Talbot did well on the left and sent in a dangerous cross towards Edwards. Riise was close by, maybe too close, and could do nothing to stop the ball hitting his body and rolling past Itandje into the corner of the net.
Luton could well have nicked a deserved winner near the end, Edwards’ speculative looping volley from 30 yards went just over, but given the chance of a trip to Anfield at the start of the tie the Hatters would have taken it.
And who knows, with another performance like that, an upset could well be on the cards.
Luton Town
Brill, Keane, Perry, Coyne, Goodall, Bell, Currie, Edwards, Spring, Talbot, Andrew.
Subs Not Used: Hutchison, Jackson, Robinson, O’Leary, Furlong.
Liverpool
Itandje, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise, Benayoun (El Zhar 86), Alonso, (Mascherano 74), Lucas, Babel (Voronin 70), Crouch, Kuyt.
Subs Not Used: Martin, Hobbs.
Booked Alonso, Riise, Hyypia
Attendance 10,226
Referee Howard Webb
Source: Liverpool escape
