One Call for the Reds

It was a FA Cup 3rd round tie against a conference side Mansfield Town. The supporters were quite upbeat about Liverpool‘s chance of grabbing it easily. But history says that the FA cup is special. It’s a special occasion for a giant-killing spree, taking out the big-guns of English football at the helm. Take a look at Brighton and Hove Albion. They got only a chance to beat the Magpies and not only denied them the victory, but also sealed the match with style. Swansea denied Arsenal a midweek rest. Manchester United had to rely on the golden foot of RVP again to set up an extra midweek clash against West Ham. Luton City ousted a championship side Wolves which resulted in the sacking of their manager. So, one can see the passion, determination and urge to win Europe’s oldest cup competition.

Moreover, Mansfield dedicated 96 seats to the 96 angels of the Hillsborough disaster. So the stage was set for the Kops to have a memorable day at the One Call stadium against Cox’s man. Dan Sturridge showed his character and scored his 1st goal for Liverpool FC after playing only 7 mins in the red jersey. Shelvey’s accurate through ball negated the Mansfield’s defence and just got the intended touch from Dan ended with a trademark Sturridge dance. He created more chances and got a one on one chance. Though he failed to add to his tally for the day, Liverpool fans already had a reason to relax.

Liverpool should have scored one more before the first half, but Marriott denied them that chance with a confident performance. The game took a sharp turn in the second half. Liverpool’s defense was absolutely blown away by Mansfield Town’s attack and Biscoe almost made it 1-1 within the first 10 mins of the second half. Liverpool made two changes right then. They sent on Hendo and Suarez to steal the show and it impacted the scoreline instantly. The linesman who denied Suarez his perfectly valid goal against Everton last October, did not flag for the handball. Suarez scored and the debate kicked off again. With 19 goals in all competitions, he has proved again that he is a human being and we thought that the game had petered out from the home team’s perspective.

But Mansfield Town never gave up. Green gave them a goal and a reason to smile and dream for 15 mins about setting up a possible date at Anfield. But, Brad Jones was in a mood to save goals and he did it with a quality display. We shouldn’t forget Jamie Carragher’s name too. The way he led the back line at his age is wonderful to see.

The Reds will face Championship side Oldham in the 4th round, whom they beat 5-0 last season in which Downing scored his first ever goal for them.