Everton teen Gosling's 118th minute strike sends Liverpool out of FA Cup
Everton teen Gosling's 118th minute strike sends Liverpool out of FA Cup
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Everton's Dan Gosling (right) celebrates his winning goal against Liverpool during the FA Cup yesterday. PICS/AP |
The fourth round replay looked like heading towards a penalty shoot-out when, with the game goalless and only two minutes of extra-time left, Gosling, who turned 19 on Monday, settled the marathon tie with a delightful finish.
It earned David Moyes's side a fifth round home date with Aston Villa in the last 16 and left Liverpool to reflect on what might have been.
In addition to seeing his side knocked out, Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez also saw his influential captain Steven Gerrard limp off with a suspected hamstring injury while the Reds finished with 10 men after Lucas Leiva was dismissed for two bookable offences.
Liverpool suffered an early setback when Gerrard, who scored in both games against Everton last month, had indicated to the bench, went off to be replaced by Yossi Benayoun. Despite only appearing in the dying minute, Benayoun had caused Chelsea's defence countless problems during a Liverpool win on Sunday that saw then close to within two points of Premier League leaders Manchester United.
But the Israeli was unable to make the same kind of impact this time as Liverpool appeared visibly shaken by Gerrard's unexpected exit. For all their possession though, the hosts struggled to hurt Liverpool.
Leon Osman went closest with an ambitious 25th minute volley from the edge of the area which flew over Jose Reina's bar, Liverpool's defence proving as stubborn as it had been on their last visit to Goodison Park, when two goals by Fernando Torres earned Benitez's side a 2-0 victory back in September.
With the first half descending into a scrappy affair, it was going to require something extra special to break the deadlock. Everton had not defeated their neighbours in the last six attempts yet as the second half got underway, it was clear that David Moyes's side would not be presented with a better chance to put that record straight.
Other results
Aston Villa 3 Doncaster 1
Blackburn 2 Sunderland 1
Nottingham Forest 2 Derby 3
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