We chuckled when the first goal went in, to H&W after 7 minutes. After Lucas equalised, I thought “here we go!”, although it took us 27 minutes to break down the semi-professionals… The next goal came shortly after, as expected. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to Liverpool! The official report gives it to Skrtel as an OG, but I think that’s harsh on the H&W player. Awful cock-up from Finnan to gift him the chance. At this point “disbelief” would be an understatement.

Yossi equalised just before half time to make it 2-2, then added two more early in the second half to complete his hattrick. Benayoun is exactly the sort of player we don’t have enough of! Tricky, skilful, great technique, can beat a man, do the unexpected, makes clever runs, and can finish – his runs from midfield are what Liverpool need to see more of, and if Gerrard doesn’t play, there’s no one else to provide them. Arriving in the box at the right time is an art, and the other “big 3″ get so many goals that way. (Having said that, they also score from set pieces every now and then too.)

Stevie came on with 5 minutes to go and set Crouch up to make the scoreline look more presentable at 5-2, even though he was offside.

Kuyt missed a very good chance to get himself a goal in what is now approaching 746 hours and 59 minutes of football…since he last had a shot on target.

Mascherano didn’t play particularly well, but Pennant looked like a world-beater in the second half – has he found his level?? If we were anywhere near top form, this would’ve been double figures, but the team looks visibly drained and short of confidence – and our inability to play through teams is very worrying. Something needs to change quickly before we come up against a half-decent side and get embarrassed.

For the neutral, this was a perfect example of the magic of the FA Cup. The H&W players lapped up every minute and the LFC fans gave them a great reception at the end of the game. They’re maybe one of my second teams now!

Pacquette (9)

Lucas (27)

Skrtel OG (31)

Benayoun (44, 56, 59)

Crouch (90)