SOCCER/Burnley - 1 Liverpool - 0: Winter bit in this pocket of Lancashire last night, but it was Liverpool who froze. A collection of second-string players wearing the Premiership side's shirt were jettisoned emphatically, despite the apparently narrow margin of their victory, by Burnley. The locals will not have felt the cold and now have a home tie with Bournemouth to contemplate.
For all the exploits of Oldham, Sheffield United, Sunderland and Exeter in this year's third round, this was the shock to spark this competition into life. Not since Coventry visited Anfield seven years ago have Liverpool been humbled at this early stage.
Those purists who argue that the cup's status has been damaged by under-strength selections from clubs whose priorities are Premiership points will revel in the justice of it all. Burnley almost went into administration last year; today they awake thrilled by the most satisfying of victories.
The deluge which had swamped this tie first time around had threatened a frostier repeat, with snow sweeping down off the Pennines to settle on the tarpaulins protecting the surface. The flurries blew themselves away in the early evening, however, and the salvage work proved to be far more successful than it had 11 days previously. In the interim, Burnley had clearly been champing at the bit.
The Championship side ripped into Liverpool's collection of youth-team graduates and reserve side players dispatched riskily to Lancashire. For all that, their were four full internationals in the Merseysiders' ranks, even though Liverpool included only three starters who had succumbed to Manchester United on Saturday. Benitez's assertion in the build-up that, "against First Division opponents, the younger players will do well" was to be sorely tested.
Jean-Louis Valois and Richard Chaplow stretched the visitors at times, the Frenchman marauding inside from the left wing to embarrass Igor Biscan in the mud on the edge of the Liverpool area while Chaplow flitted up and down the right with menace. Valois slipped his team mate through on goal early on, only for Jerzy Dudek to tip Chaplow's skimming shot awkwardly away.
That was unconvincing, though the Polish goalkeeper would have felt better for it. His error against United must still have been preying on his mind, the travelling supporters doing their best to offer the impression that he still had their confidence. They felt better when Dudek sprang to his right to palm away Micah Hyde's 20-yard attempt, though Gary Cahill should have converted the subsequent corner.
Burnley were busy, snapping into challenges and forever threatening when their French winger moved up. At times Sami Hyypia alone appeared capable of thrusting himself on to the loose ball spats into the centre. Valois arrived here after a tough spell in Scotland, with Hearts and Clyde, and much he did here suggested he has found his true level.
The Liverpool juniors appeared panicked by it all. This was not the composed display expected from a side who had seen off Millwall and Middlesbrough in the League Cup, and prevailed on penalties at Spurs en route to that competition's semi-finals. Biscan's header, blocked by Cahill, was the extent of their first-half threat.
Benitez must surely have reminded them of their capabilities during the interval, Antonio Nunez firing over a cross which Florent Sinama-Pongolle glanced over the bar. Liverpool cursed the miss, though its implications only became apparent in the embarrassment which ensued.
Within seconds Ian Moore had flicked Chaplow away down the left to cross into the centre. The galloping striker stood no chance of connecting but Djimi Traore, initially unsighted by Zak Whitbread, attempted to drag the loose ball back on to his left foot and instead deflected it, agonisingly yet astonishingly, into the empty net. The home fans erupted in a mixture of delight and tickled disbelief and were further delighted to see the back of Nunez with three minutes to go, sent off for a stray elbow.
BURNLEY: Jensen, Sinclair, Cahill, McGreal, Camara, Hyde, Grant, Roche, Chaplow, Valois, Moore. Subs Not Used: Coyne, O'Neill, Pilkington, Scott, Yates. Booked: Chaplow. Goal: Traore 51 og.
LIVERPOOL: Dudek, Raven, Hyypia, Whitbread, Traore (Baros 65), Nunez, Biscan, Welsh (Mellor 75), Potter, Warnock, Sinama Pongolle. Subs Not Used: Otsemobor, Harrison, Smyth. Sent Off: Nunez (87). Booked: Raven, Mellor, Baros.
Referee: M Clattenburg (Co Durham).
