How to begin? Struggling actually. I have this belief that the euphoria from victory is never as high as the depths of feeling following a defeat and while I'm sitting here, glass of Scotch in hand with an inner glow and a somewhat smug feeling, there's still something of a reluctance to go overboard. Why, I ask myself?

On reflection, albeit only a few hours after the match, I'm sure half of it is the somewhat anti-climactic feeling about the game. Was it the fact we'd already reached Wembley? Was there a reluctance to really demonstrate the vitriol we all wanted to display only a few weeks ago because King Kenny and the captain had asked us to watch what we said?

And then there was the match itself which, in truth, was more like a game of chess compared with many of these encounters we've seen over the years. Either way, Evra got booed and the Kop proclaimed him a 'lying bastard' with gusto, which those of us in other parts of the ground endorsed wholeheartedly. But in reality he wasn't really hurt that greatly.

Many moons ago when I used to coach some very useful under-16 sides at school, there would be opponents which we knew might not be as well disciplined (in school terms) as we felt our boys were. We knew in advance who they were and I used to tell my team that no matter what sort of indiscipline, even thuggery, they faced, nothing would ever compensate for losing. "You can react to the intimidation, smack somebody on the nose, get sent off and even feel a short term good for the punch you've landed, but if you lost the game, you'd lost the argument.!"

And in many ways that kind of analogy applied today. Nothing comes better than a late winner especially against a side that specialises in them. To see Evra caught out for Kuyt's strike was better than all the name-calling that had gone before. He's a horrid little argumentative turd normally, but he was understandably subdued today (almost certainly under orders) and the knowledge that he'll have left Anfield knowing defeat was totally his fault leaves a mighty good feeling here. We won; they lost and Evra fucked up. Brilliant!

In terms of the game, it seemed obvious to me that Kenny and his coach had planned the way the team would play. I do believe that Liverpool have learned a lot about themselves defensively after the two legs against City and in view of the initial selections and then what seemed pre-determined substitutions, the pair were well wary of a burn out after such an intense game only three days earlier.

In fact Kenny stated post-match that if he'd played Kuyt from the start the Dutchman would not have got much past half-time. Furthermore the somewhat surprise substitution of the skipper with a full 20 minutes to go and the player's obvious anticipation at being called, further supported the notion of a deliberate pre-set plan.

Liverpool allowed United the ball which ordinarily might be considered a highly dangerous thing to do. But the reality was that the visitors rarely hurt us -very much like City the other night. This Liverpool side would have done well in Europe, methinks.

I'm sure also that there was an intention to get the full backs to do some crossing for Carroll, but in truth the United fivesome stretched across the middle rarely gave Kelly or Enrique much chance to get forward. That said, Stevie got a mere two opportunities with clearly rehearsed corners from the left; the first he over-hit (which ironically made a change from hitting the first defender!) while his second, beautifully floated and headed in by Dan Agger, was the type Eddie Gray and Jack Charlton would have been proud of in their heyday!

Enrique's mistake for the equaliser was the consequence of something the player tries to do far too often. He uses his body to shield the ball very well but in one-to-one situations like this, Row Z is a perfectly honourable option which his very positive outlook doesn't ordinarily seem to consider.

Thereafter the game was hardly frenetic and instead all about pass and pass and pass, most especially by United. That is until the three second half substitutions resulted in the Reds shaping far more like the XI that outplayed City on Wednesday. Yet still the game was all about intricate passing and possession, so that it was the ultimate irony that a route one ball should create the goal.

Quite honestly, though Liverpool had improved and were pressing more, realistically the goal came somewhat right out of the blue. Which perhaps brings my piece back to the start. Personally I'd all but accepted an unwanted replay and hardly felt wound-up because the grandstand finish we might have hoped for never materialised.

Yet there we are in the hat for Round 5. After our overall luck in cup draws this season, an away trip to Chelsea, Tottenham or Goodison seems a cast-iron certainty. So come on, Miss Lady Luck, while I'm sure in our present mood we're well capable of beating any opponent on the day, nevertheless Crawley Town or Stevenage, for example, would dearly love to come for an adventure to Anfield where their Club could earn a golden pay-off!

A final thought: I really do think Referee Halsey was absolutely excellent. If not 10/10, certainly 9.5. Quote from Ferguson: "I don't think the referee did us any favours." Fucking hell!

Mike Hopper