FA Cup
18 March, 2012
Liverpool
Pepe Reina
25
Martin Kelly
34
Martin Skrtel
37
Jamie Carragher
23
Jose Enrique
3
Maxi Rodríguez
11
Steven Gerrard
8
Jay Spearing
20
Stewart Downing
19
Luis Suárez
7
Andy Carroll
9
Substitutes
Jordan Henderson
14
Sebastian Coates
16
Dirk Kuyt
18
Charlie Adam
26
Alexander Doni
32
Jonjo Shelvey
33
John Flanagan
38
Stoke City
29
Thomas Sorensen
28
Andy Wilkinson
17
Ryan Shawcross
4
Robert Huth
12
Marc Wilson
30
Ryan Shotton
18
Dean Whitehead
6
Glenn Whelan
26
Matthew Etherington
19
Jonathan Walters
25
Peter Crouch
Substitutes
16
Jermaine Pennant
24
Rory Delap
33
Cameron Jerome
40
Wilson Palacios
20
Matthew Upson
27
Carlo Nash
9
Kenwyne Jones
Referee: Kevin Friend
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Stewart Downing struck with a fortuitous second half drive to send Liverpool through to the FA Cup semi-finals on the back of a 2-1 victory over Stoke at Anfield. The first half was a passionate affair punctuated mainly by constant fouling, although both sides did manage a goal. Luis Suarez grabbed the opener after 23 minutes with a brilliant side-footed finish from the edge of the area, before Peter Crouch levelled for Stoke with a header from a disputed corner. Honours seemed even at half time but Liverpool took control after the break and pulled ahead through Downing's 57th-minute drive, after the winger had played a one-two off an unwitting Steven Gerrard's heel. Stoke sent a few high balls into the box as full time approached, but the Reds stood firm to win the day.
Liverpool are through to the FA Cup semi-finals at the expense of Stoke.
Stoke get one last chance with a Delap long throw, but Pepe Reina clears things up with a confident take.
Marc WIlson takes ball and man as he goes right through Kuyt with a reckless tackle, for which a yellow card is the reward.
Some late pressure from the visitors sees Liverpool repel two corners and a long throw, with the crowd cheering loudly as Reina finally plucks the ball out of the air and clutches it safely to his chest.
Kelly hasn't been able to shake off his knock and is replaced by Sebastian Coates, while Suarez makes way for Jordan Henderson.
Suarez rolls around holding his ankle after Huth catches his opponent on the back of the heel. In fairness to the German, that one looked like an accident.
Martin Skrtel climbs all over the back of Crouch to give Stoke a late free kick in a decent position, but Pennant's set-piece is straight into the wall.
A tough but fair challenge from Shawcross halts Martin Kelly's incursion on goal, and the Liverpool man is forced from the field to receive treatment.
Jonathan Walters has picked up a knock and is visibly struggling, but he may have to play on as Stoke have used all their substitutions.
A rush of blood to the head afflicts the normally cautious Jay Spearing as he receives a pass from Suarez 25 yards from goal, and the youngster smashes a shot well wide.
Shawcross takes out Suarez off the ball in a cynical body-check aimed at stopping the forward reaching a pass from Downing. A yellow card is the stopper's reward.
Rory Delap comes on for Stoke, with Whitehead going off. Will there be time to see one or two Delap long throws?
Luis Suarez goes from the sublime to the ridiculous with a tricky turn away from a baffled Wilkinson before lofting a shot high and wide when it looked easier to hit the target.
Cameron Jerome gets 20 minutes of action, with Etherington the man to take his place on the bench.
Tony Pulis is getting more and more animated as the game progresses, barking instructions at his ailing troops. So far it's all to no avail.
Gerrard and Suarez combine again to create a yard of space for the Uruguayan, whose swerving shot from distance is well saved.
The second half has been much more one-sided than the opening period, with the Potters looking a little tired. They've played a lot of games this season.
Spearing sets up Kuyt for a blaster from the edge of the box, with no defenders looking inclined to close the Dutchman down. In the end the shot is straight at the goalkeeper.
Kenny Dalglish decides to make a swap of his own, replacing Rodriguez with Dirk Kuyt.
Former Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant comes on to replace Shotton for Stoke.
Matthew Etherington makes a terrific tackle to deny Kelly as the full back races onto a flicked ball from Suarez.
Stewart Downing picks up the ball on the right and plays a short pass into Gerrard. The captain goes to take it in his stride but gets his feet all wrong; however, it fortunately breaks back to Downing, who powers through and thumps a low shot past Sorensen from 18 yards out.
An uncharacteristic passing move takes Stoke all the way through the Liverpool side, only for Walters to be tackled by Jose Enrique at the last moment. That just goes to show they can do it when they want to!
A Gerrard free kick from the right is met by the head of Suarez, who flicks a header only just wide of the far post. That was a close one.
Glenn Whelan steals the ball from Suarez's toes with a deft tackle and control that you might not usually associate with the solid midfielder.
Steven Gerarrd signals Liverpool's intent as the skipper bursts forward from midfield and tests Sorensen with a low drive from right to left.
The teams are back out and the second half is underway, with neither manager having made any half time changes.
The passion of the FA Cup has been very much evident in a tumultuous first half here at Anfield, but at the expense of high quality football. Four yellow cards sums up the play so far, and, although both sides have scored, there have been few other opportunities of note. Luis Suarez grabbed the first with a marvellous side-footed finish from the edge of the area after 23 minutes, though it took Stoke a mere three minutes to reply through Peter Crouch's header. The England striker's effort was mired in controversy, however, as it came from a wrongly awarded corner. Jonathan Walters put one decent chance into the side-netting, while Suarez chipped tamely into Thomas Sorensen's arms from a promising position, but mostly it's been all about tackles and misplaced passes. Both teams have done well with their work rate and commitment, and either could prevail come close of play.
The first half is over, and it's one apiece at the break.
The crowd roar an appeal as Gerrard's shot from the edge of the box cannons into Huth's body. Very difficult to see whether a hand was involved there.
Shawcross wrestles Suarez to the ground right on the 18-yard line. Steven Gerrard steps up to take the free kick and gets his effort over the wall, but isn't able to dip it into the net.
Huth gets his bonce to a Stewart Downing cross, the ball dropping kindly for Suarez. The Uruguayan is profligate this time, failing to trouble Thomas Sorensen with an underpowered chip.
A raking long pass from Gerrard almost sets Carroll free, but the ponytailed forward ends up feeling aggrieved after taking a slight unnoticed nudge to the back from Wilkinson.
Another odd decision by the referee's assistant has Suarez laughing after the ball clearly takes a touch off Robert Huth before going out.
Whitehead plays Jonathan Walters through the Liverpool defence with a perfectly-weighted through ball, but the striker can only hit the side-netting from 16 yards. He should've hit the target at the very least.
Neat interplay between Gerrard and Spearing just outside Stoke's box makes room for the younger man to drive a cross into the area. It's behind Andy Carroll, who stretches out a lengthy leg to hook an overhead kick far over the bar.
What a bad-tempered affair this is turning out to be. This time Wilkinson goes crashing through the back of Luis Suarez without going anywhere near the ball. A yellow card is the result.
Pepe Reina picks up a booking for arguing with the ref about the legitimacy of that corner. He might have a point, but picking up a yellow card won't help the situation.
The Potters are piling on the pressure now as an Etherington corner flashes right across the face of goal with no-one there to convert it. The ball goes out via a flick off Ryan Shawcross' head, but the referee strangely gives another corner. This time Peter Crouch loses his marker Carroll to head home unopposed from the penalty spot against his old club.
Dean Whitehead finds Wilkinson with a ball out to the right, and the latter sends in a dangerous ball that only just evades the lunging Crouch and Walters right in front of goal.
The first piece of quality in the game leads to the first goal. Luis Suarez plays a one-two with Rodriguez and holds off two defenders before side-footing into the bottom right-hand corner of the net from just outside the area.
A lack of communication in the red ranks is cruelly exposed as Gerrard and Downing both slide in to stop a path down the line from Wilkinson, only for the defender to calmly check back inside. At least the commitment was there.
The first 18 minutes of this game have been full of the traditional blood and thunder of the FA Cup, but it hasn't made for a pretty game of football. Neither team seem to be able to hold onto the ball even for a moment.
The tide of indiscipline continues as Spearing tempts Glenn Whelan into a late lunge, the hapless Irishman becoming the second player to enter the referee's notebook.
Stoke threaten for the first time as Shotton swings a fine cross over the penalty area and onto the head of Peter Crouch, who jogs Liverpool memories of the striker's time at Anfield with a weak header that's easily plucked out of the air by Reina.
Bright sunlight is covering Liverpool's half of the pitch and could prove troublesome for Pepe Reina, should the ball be hoisted skywards towards the Spaniard's goal. With Stoke around, you can't exactly rule that out.
The fouls continue to fly in as Gerrard collapses to the turf holding his head under Ryan Shotton's arial challenge. Nothing more than a free kick is awarded, however.
Martin Kelly leaves Kevin Friend with no option but to show an early yellow card after the full back scythes down the flying Etherington with a very late tackle.
Andy Wilkinson commits the first transgression of the game, stopping Luis Suarez in his tracks with a bodycheck over by the touchline. Steven Gerrard swings in the resulting free kick from the left, allowing the diminutive Maxi Rodriguez to somehow leap above the pack and flick a header just wide of the far post.
Following a round of applause with respect to the sadly stricken Fabrice Muamba, Liverpool get us underway in this afternoon's FA Cup quarter-final tie at Anfield.
As predicted, Andy Carroll is on the teamsheet and ready to go up against the brawn of Shawcross, Huth et al. For Stoke, the aerially dangerous pair of Peter Crouch and Jonathan Walters line up against Carragher and Skrtel.
Ricardo Fuller is suspended following the striker's dismissal against Arsenal last week, but Peter Crouch and Thomas Sorensen may make the starting line-up.
Glen Johnson and Daniel Agger are laid out, so Jamie Carragher and Martin Kelly could deputise. Craig Bellamy may start after missing out against Everton in midweek.
It seems logical that Andy Carroll will be making an appearance today, with Kenny sending his own battering ram up against Stoke's heavy oak door of a back line. If the towering striker can get free of the wrestling squad he's sure to encounter in the Potters' area, he could prove to be the matchwinner.
Stoke have sent Uruguay international Diego Arismendi out on loan to Huddersfield until the end of the season. The 24-year-old midfielder has failed to fulfil his promise since signing for the Potters in a £2.6m deal and spent last season on loan at Barnsley.
Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish has dismissed worries that his side don't score enough goals. The spiky terrace legend said; "We'll keep pushing forward. If we need two chances to get one goal, then fine". That's what we want to hear on FA Cup weekend!
Kevin Friend is the man to take charge of today's tie, having dealt out the cards like a mad person for the majority of the season so far. Mr Friend will have his baleful eye on Stoke's burly bruisers, but Liverpool's boys can dish it out too and all will have to take care not to get overexcited with the tackling.
It's FA Cup quarter-final time at Anfield this afternoon as rock-solid Stoke aim to stop hosts Liverpool in their attempts to win a second cup this season. The Reds halted a recent poor run of form in midweek with a resounding 3-0 victory in the Merseyside derby, and the hardened stoppers of Stoke's rearguard will be on particular lookout for that night's hat-trick hero Steven Gerrard. The Potters have enjoyed their own upturn in fortunes over the last few games but were brought bumping down to earth by a 1-0 loss to Chelsea in their most recent outing. Although Tony Pulis' men may lose their share of games, it's rarely by more than one goal, something which Liverpool's struggling attack have found difficult to come by this season. Just a single strike could be enough for the visitors to nick it, but you can be sure both sides will be drawing from the magic of the FA Cup to go all-out and give us a real spectacle.