Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll celebrate Carrol's winning goal. (Getty Images)
It's obvious to state that Liverpool's Premier League campaign has fallen short of the mark this season. Also, a lot of the major news off the pitch (Suarez) has overshadowed what the club has already done. However, Liverpool have kept the faith in the domestic cups this season, and after winning the Carling Cup earlier this year, now stand just one win from claiming the FA Cup as well.
Their eternal Merseyside rivals, Everton, didn't make it easy on them though. They're in a much longer trophy drought than Liverpool, and coming into this one they were very much the in form team and a trendy pick to upset their more famous red clad neighbors.
In fact, Everton was the stronger team in the first half. After some initial possession from Liverpool, Everton really started to get their attack together. Their first chance came in the sixth minute, in the form of a set piece chance from Leighton Baines. Unfortunately he put his kick just slightly over the bar and Liverpool breathed a sigh of relief. In the 21st minute, Nikica Jelavic tried a bit of a scruffy overhead kick, but it was saved by Brad Jones in goal for Liverpool. However the former Rangers man drew first blood just 3 minutes later. Liverpool's Jamie Carragher tried to clear the ball out of his own box, but it bounced off of Tim Cahill and fell right to Jelavic, who slotted past Jones to give Everton the 0-1 lead.
The goal did seem to wake Liverpool up a bit, and they slowly got better as the half wore on. Still, at the halftime whistle, Everton still clung to the 0-1 lead.
Liverpool ratcheted up their play in the second half though, while Everton seemed to come out dragging. The Reds had a great chance to equalize in the 47th minute, but somehow Andy Carroll put his free header wide of the near post and it was Everton's turn to breathe again.
Unfortunately for the Toffees and their supporters, it was an Everton defensive blunder that gifted Liverpool their first goal and really let them back into the match. In the 62nd minute, Sylvain Distin tried a long back pass to Tim Howard, but it didn't hit it anywhere near hard enough. Luis Suarez rushed onto the ball, beat Howard one on one, and slapped the ball into the net to tie the match at 1-1.
After that the energy seemed to drain from Everton even faster. They carved out a couple of half chances but never again threatened Jones. Finally in the 87th minute, Carroll went from goat to hero. The big center forward rose on a Craig Bellamy corner kick and headed it into the net to stun Wembley Stadium and hand Liverpool the 2-1 win.
Everton wallowed in the despairing loss as Liverpool celebrated. They really were the better team in the first half, and were holding their own in the second until Distin's major defensive miscue. From there, it was pretty much all Reds, as they now look ahead to their second cup final of the year.
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