Liverpool face Oldham in the 3rd round of FA Cup

Article by Emma Rhodes

This is the 3rd time in a row Liverpool have faced Oldham in this competition as in 2012 Liverpool won 5-1 at Anfield as Bellamy, Carroll, Gerrard, Shelvey and Downing. Last year Liverpool travelled to Oldham but lost in a 3-2 battle with Luis Suarez and Joe Allen scoring but Matt Smith gave Liverpool a tough time scoring the majority of their goals but has now since moved to Leeds United.

Before the game, all players paid tribute to Wayne Harrison, former Liverpool and Oldham player and wore black armbands throughout the match. Suarez and Coutinho were on the bench as Gerrard started for the first time since his injury and Jordan Henderson also started as he has done in every game so far this season. Brad Jones replaced goalkeeper Simon Mignolet and Alberto, Aspas and Moses also got to start.

Just moments into the game, Petrasso gets booked for a tackle against Gerrard and Korey Smith gets a yellow card. Alberto looked keen to impress with a shot from just inside the box but was unsuccessful. Liverpool displayed some good passing with Henderson and Alberto looking to work together well. Today's referee Stuart Atwell missed a Liverpool corner but seemed to be a fair referee despite this miss, leaving Rodgers with little to complain about after being charged recently after comments made about referee decisions made against Liverpool during their meet with Manchester City in the Premier League on Boxing Day.

Alberto then had another shot in the 23rd minute, but again is saved. Kelly then also tried a shot at goal which was saved in the 29th minute from the byline. Half time is called and Lucas, who spent the breat warming up, comes on for Alberto and Coutinho comes on for Moses. Liverpool seem to add the pressure in the second half but Oldham’s defence was also looking good.

Sterling then finds Iago Aspas in the 55th minute who manages to find the back of the net, making it 1-0 for Liverpool shortly into the second half of the game. This is Aspas’ first goal for Liverpool and Reds fans hope this will encourage him and expand his confidence.

In the 57th minute Coutinho takes the corner which leads to a Gerrard header which roars just over. Oldham then also make some changes with Harkins and Dayton coming on for Rooney and Clarke-Harris. Jordan Henderson another Livepool shot on goal but ends up way over the target. Oldham are then denied a penalty in the 70th minute and no cards are given. The crowd then jump to their feet as Suarez comes on for Gerrard and Agger gains the captains armband. This was short lived as he then limped off the pitch and down the tunnel and Liverpool are left as a 10 man team with 10 minutes left of the game.

Liverpool were not worried for too long though as very shortly after Sterling scores Liverpool's second goal after looking good all game. Despite this, the goal was noted as an own goal from Oldham defender James Tarkowski and Aspas gets the assist. Raheem Sterling has now scored 3 goals, and been given 3 assists in his last 8 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions.

In the 84th minute, Oldham bring on Anton Rodgers, the son of Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, who gets cheered onto the pitch by the KOP and Liverpool fans. Towards the end of the match Sterling was awarded a yellow card and a further 2 yellows are then delivered to Kusunga after a meeting with Suarez and Dayton after a tackle with Raheem Sterling.

Liverpool are to now face Bournemouth or Burton in the next round which will be played on the 25th or 26th January 2013.

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