Liverpool 2 Cardiff City 1Football can be brutal with its affections. There was a warm embrace for Robbie Fowler on his return to Liverpool last night, complete with the reminder his former place at the heart of Anfield's aspirations and worship now belongs to someone else.
It is Steven Gerrard who, inevitably, holds the key to Liverpool's emergence from their recent trough and it was he who guided Rafael Benitez's side through a delicate fourth-round tie against Cardiff City and into the quarter-finals of a competition that may rank fourth on the manager's list of priorities, but provided a welcome distraction here.
The Liverpool captain may not have been risked against Dave Jones' experienced side but for the injuries that befell Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano against Arsenal, and the illness that has struck Mohamed Sissoko. His influence was not diluted by the occasion as he steered his side onward with a clinical winner.
Four minutes into this contest, Fowler almost scored at the Kop end. A foul on the 32-year-old by Fabio Aurelio gave Cardiff their first opportunity of a lively start but Liverpool's goalkeeper, Charles Itandje, was equal to a 20-yard shot.
Fowler set up Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink for a goalbound volley blocked by the Anfield debutant Jack Hobbs as Cardiff sought to benefit from Liverpool's adjustment to the nine changes from Sunday's starting line-up against Arsenal. That appeared the Championship club's best option as, once Gerrard, Peter Crouch and Ryan Babel began to dominate possession, Benitez's side began to press Cardiff back.
Babel sliced over following a neat touch from Crouch who went closer with a low shot from distance and Aurelio took Cardiff's goalkeeper, Michael Oakes, by surprise with a 30-yard attempt that he did well to save.
Aerially, Liverpool remained a work in progress, with Babel and Brazilian Lucas heading well over when both were unmarked. It fell to another of Benitez's young recruits to reflect Liverpool's superiority when Nabil El Zhar announced his first start in emphatic fashion in the 48th minute. The 20-year-old took Gerrard's pass in midfield and, with a swerving shot from 25 yards, he obliged off the inside of the post.
The lead lasted 17 minutes before Cardiff's captain Darren Purse rose above Jamie Carragher to head Paul Parry's deep free-kick beyond Itandje. Within 60 seconds Cardiff were behind again. Gerrard and Yossi Benayoun combined and the captain applied the execution to the cross and Cardiff's hopes.
LIVERPOOL: Itandje, Arbeloa, Hobbs, Carragher, Aurelio, El Zhar (Kewell 71), Lucas (Mascherano 87), Gerrard, Leto (Benayoun 63), Crouch, Babel. Subs not used: Martin, Riise. Booked: Lucas, Babel. Goals: El Zhar 48, Gerrard 66.
CARDIFF: Oakes, McNaughton (Gunter 84), Purse, Johnson, Capaldi, Ledley, Rae, McPhail (Whittingham 89), Parry, Fowler, Hasselbaink (Thompson 75). Subs not used: Magennis, Loovens. Booked: McNaughton. Goals: Purse 65.
Referee: Peter Walton (Northamptonshire).
