Fairytale over

                              

The final score was Liverpool 5-2 Havant and Waterlooville. However, for 45 minutes the Hawks were in the greatest game of their club’s history. They were level at the half, but they had lead the Reds (a team 122 places above them in the tables) twice at Anfield forcing boos from the home crowd at the halftime whistle. Former QPR striker Richard Pacquette put the part-timers up after only 8 minutes with a header from a Mo Harkin corner. The Reds squndered some early chances until Leiva Lucas curled in a 25 yarder to knot the score in the 27th minute.

      

Alfie Potter restored the advantage 4 minutes later with at deflected goal off of Martin Skrtel and into the net. Cue Yossi Benayoun. The Isreali international scored just before the half then came out firing in the second half with two more goals and the Premier Leaguers never looked back. Peter Crouch found the twine late to make the final score look lopsided, but this was not a typical walkover by the big boys. Havant and Waterlooville came to play and their 6,000 travelling supporters will have plenty of great memories to take back to Hampshire.

            

Part time players to full time heros?

They have real jobs during the week and they play six divisions below the Premier League in the Blue Square South. Havant and Waterlooville will take on Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday and win, lose or draw they will leave happy. This match between the Hawks and the Reds is the ideal FA Cup tie. It’s what the world’s oldest cup competition is all about. The final will have two Premiership teams, it always does. But, to see a team like Havant and Waterlooville get an opportunity to walk out onto one of the biggest stages in football…I’m excited!

Will Rafa Benitez take this match seriously? Or will he send out a reserve side looking forward to their trip to West Ham? If the Reds draw this match I can’t imagine what the reaction from the Kop would be. If they lose I think I know what the Kop’s reaction will be. And it won’t be good. Liverpool has drawn five out of their last six matches. Matches they really should have won.

I’ll be pulling for Havant and Waterlooville to shock everyone. I like the underdog and I want to see the Hawks get to round five. After that who knows how far they might go?