Reds hit suicidal Seagulls for six

Liverpool smashed six past Brighton and Hove Albion at Anfield yesterday to secure a place in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup, where they will host Premier League rivals Stoke City. For the first time in FA Cup history three own goals were scored in a tie by the same team, as Liam Bridcutt and Lewis Dunk had afternoons to forget. Skrtel, Suarez and Carroll scored the others, with Kazenga LuaLua's admittedly impressive strike the only response the visitors managed to muster.

It was nearly 29 years to the day since Brighton achieved a 2-1 victory at Anfield at the same stage of the FA Cup with the help of former Liverpool midfielder Jimmy Case. Perhaps more relevantly, Gus Poyet's side beat high-flying Newcastle United 1-0 in the previous round and gave the Reds a run for their money in the third round of the Carling Cup earlier in the campaign.

Kenny Dalglish thus afforded the Championship play-off contenders all due respect and began with a strong starting line-up. Steven Gerrard, Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez all started in the same game for the first time and linked up well, the latter two both finding the back of the net while the captain was influential in forcing Bridcutt to concede his second own goal of the evening.

During the opening stages the home side were in the ascendancy and they took the lead only five minutes after the kick-off. All eyes were on El-Abd as he repeatedly manhandled Andy Carroll in the box in the build-up to Gerrard's corner, yet amazingly Andre Marriner ignored the tussle and failed to penalise Brighton's number six. Nevertheless, when the skipper swung in the set piece Skrtel rose highest to head home at the near post and give Liverpool a crucial early lead.

The Seagulls responded, though, with Reina easily collecting Vokes' shot before Brighton earned a set piece in a dangerous area after Henderson, who failed to provide sufficient width throughout on the right hand side, clipped LuaLua's ankles. The brother of Blackpool player Lomana picked himself up to arrow a thumping free kick into the bottom corner to stun the Kop and equalise for the resurgent visitors.

An entertaining, end-to-end cup-tie was emerging and Brighton were holding their own but the Merseysiders remained dominant and continued to carve open goalscoring opportunities. On 20 minutes Downing played a one-two with Suarez inside the box and then attempted to hook home but his effort bounced across the face of goal.

The Uruguayan, who had received the support of compatriot and Brighton boss Gus Poyet during the Evra saga, came alive after the mid-point of the first period. The world-class Suarez, who had performed so well before the recent controversy, returned and threatened constantly. Just before the half hour mark, he glided effortlessly into the box and beat goalkeeper Brezovan with a stabbed shot but Calderon's desperate clearance off the line denied the diminutive forward.

His tall strike partner Andy Carroll then headed onto the roof of the net from Gerrard's centre when he should have done better, before the breakthrough finally arrived close to the interval. Adam's corner caused havoc in the Brighton box and eventually Johnson's header was cleared off the line, only for the ball to rebound off Bridcutt's shins and cross the line of the Anfield Road end goal.

The second half thankfully continued in the same fashion to the first, with Liverpool creating countless chances and converting a fair few of them. A little help was required from some woeful Brighton defending, but it was still pleasing to see the Reds thump a side at home instead of succumbing to yet another draw, which has been the tendency this season.

Suarez was inevitably at the heart of the action, trying and failing to chip Brezovan four minutes after the restart and then having his appeals for a penalty after Dunk appeared to handle in the area fall on deaf ears. On 57 minutes, though, a free flowing move resulted in the Reds bagging their third and effectively ensuring a positive outcome from the contest. The move ended with the noticeably improved Stewart Downing squaring to Carroll, whose superb finish from 12 yards resembled the type of finishing displayed during his time in the North East at Newcastle.

It was only his sixth goal of the season and, remarkably, Downing's first assist of the campaign, which reveals the poor form they have undeniable been experiencing. However, the pair performed significantly better yesterday, with Downing in particular making a credible claim for a starting berth in next Sunday's Carling Cup final against Cardiff City.

For all the hosts' brilliance, the visitors certainly didn't help themselves with some calamitous defending costing them dearly. This was evident twenty minutes from time when Alan Navarro, who was born close to Anfield and played for the Reds' reserves, embarrassingly failed to deal with Henderson's looped ball, allowing Gerrard to get in behind Brighton's defence and strike goalwards from a tight angle. It was a similar position to his goal against Newcastle in December, however this time it found the net thanks to a diversion off Bridcutt, who could do nothing to stop scoring his second own goal of the encounter.

The defending of the humorously named Dunk was even worse three minutes later when he made a mess of trying to clear a cross. He had plenty of time and space but attempted to clear using his chest and thigh. The result was a humiliating howler from the number 5 and Liverpool's fourth goal, three of which had been own goals.

King Kenny then made a triple substitution, swapping Downing, Henderson and Gerrard for Maxi, Kuyt and Shelvey respectively. The Dutchman was involved in the action almost immediately, boyhood Liverpool fan Noone bringing him down in the area and subsequently conceding a spot kick.

Wanting to increase his confidence, Dalglish made sure that Suarez took the penalty. Unfortunately, his confidence may well have fallen as a result of Brezovan easily saving his poor penalty, which went straight down the middle and failed to test the Czechoslovakian keeper. Nevertheless, a goal to round off the action after 84 minutes atoned for his earlier error and rewarded Suarez's encouraging and exciting display. It was also pleasing to witness him link up with Carroll, who headed Enrique's cross back across goal for Suarez to nod home.

A streaker invading the pitch in injury time and hugging Jamie Carragher left the crowd in hysterics and provided an entertaining conclusion to what was a hugely enjoyable FA Cup tie.

Liverpool may not have deserved the margin of victory they secured, however they certainly performed well, dominating possession and carving Brighton's defence open repeatedly. They managed an impressive 28 shots, 15 of which were on target, and found the back of the net six times. Finally the Reds have smashed a team for six at Anfield and hopefully this victory should signal the death of the frustrating home draw.

This display and result provides the perfect confidence boost ahead of the Carling Cup final and after last week's defeat at Old Trafford. Moreover, with Stoke City travelling to Anfield in March for the next round of this competition, Liverpool will be firm favourites to progress and could be visiting Wembley yet again this season.

There is no reason why; with a bit of good fortune and a lot of hard work, Liverpool cannot complete a domestic cup double.

YNWA