Liverpool through to FA Cup semis

Liverpool ensured their place in the FA Cup semi-finals with a 2-1 win over Stoke at Anfield on Sunday.

Luis Suarez opened the scoring for the Merseysiders after 23 minutes, before Peter Crouch levelled things up for the Potters four minutes later.

Stewart Downing came to the rescue for the Carling Cup winners, finding the winner on 57 minutes, and setting up a last four clash with either Sunderland or cross-town rivals Everton.

The FA Cup semi-finals are set to be played on April 14th and 15th, but with the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster on the 15th, Kenny Dalgish has pleaded with the FA to allow them to play the day before.

“We won’t play on the 15th. The FA and UEFA have always been exemplary and very supportive, and that’s great credit to them,” the Scottish coach told Sky Sports.

“I don’t think it’s even worth a line in a paper that we might play on the 15th because we won’t. We’ve never played on the 15th before, have we? So there you are. Why would they change now?”

Dalglish went on to admit that the Reds’ victory over Tony Pulis’ men was not easy.

“It was as difficult as I expected. They started really competitively at a high tempo for first 20 to 30 minutes and we had to match them.

“Pepe Reina was not too busy but they are always a threat from set-pieces and throws.

“I think it was a fantastic performance in many ways for us. It was not the best in terms of how we passed the ball but the way we competed and put our bodies on the line set an example for everyone.

“It shows what it meant to them to get through this tie.

“We scored two really good goals from Luis and Stewart, which just got us over the line,” he concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

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