|We needed this match as much as a flipping enema. It almost goes without saying (Amazingly, some thought this match was a good thing) that this was no help to our diminishing promotion prospects. Still, it was an obligation we had to meet, and it was at least an opportunity to gauge where Saints are up against the side that may well be the best team in the Premier League at their home stadium. Yes, they would play their reserves and kids, but so would we.

Martin's team was as expected, with a decent enough mix of reserves and a couple of first-team starters. Lumley was in goal to give Baz the night off, with a defensive back four of Bree at right back, Stephens, Bednarek and Manning at left-back. Midfield was Aribo, Charles and Rothwell, with a front three of Edozie, Mara and Sulemana.

As the teams came onto the pitch, we were told that Liverpool is unbeaten at home this season in the Premier League, Europa League, the FACup and the League Cup. Reassuring, cheers.

Then, as if to mock us, Mara had the ball in the Liverpool net within the first minute but was a country mile offside. Inevitably, it was flagged as offside—no need for VAR.

But wait, what is this? Saints are playing well, and Joe Aribo is creating havoc in the home defence, marshalled by ex-Saint Virgil van Dijk. Joe passes out to Sulemana on the left wing; the Ghanaian drops his shoulder, cuts inside and fires a shot, which hits the far upright and bounces away.

Next, Liverpool patiently play the ball out from the back, but too slowly, and Mara jumps in, wins the ball and fires towards the far corner, but he is slightly off balance and doesn't connect fully, and the goalie has time to push it beyond the goal.

Then, once again, Sulemana creates havoc down the left wing, bypassing two defenders and firing a shot along the ground, which, although on target, is saved easily. He does all the approach work superbly but doesn't produce the end product. It's not something he alone is guilty of though.

This is all encouraging stuff and not at all what I was expecting.

All too soon the half approaches the end and Saints are well on top, albeit without scoring any goals. Then out of the blue, the Liverpool youngsters combine with Clark sending a defence-splitting pass to Koumas, who takes a few steps to the right and fires beyond Lumley for the opening goal. 1-0 and it felt like daylight robbery, so much were Saints on top.

Halftime was an opportunity to rue all those missed chances, and Liverpool just had the one chance and took it. That is why they are where they are. The game had way exceeded my expectations after the last few performances by Saints. As a mark of how well the away side was doing, van Dijk was replaced by Konaté for the second half.

Saints hadn't quite finished yet, as there was a gold-plated chance soon after the restart when Charles, who had been excellent all evening, played through to Aribo, another who had looked good all evening and who, in turn, found Edozie on the wing, the youngster outstripping two defenders to send a perfect cross across the face of goal. Mara and Sulemana were steaming in, but in a comedy of errors, Mara seemed to miss the ball completely, although replays showed that Konaté got a foot to it first. Then Sulemana somehow contrived to hit Mara with his effort. At this point, I could be found with my head in my hands, muttering something about being unable to hit a barn door with a banjo.

Martin then contrived to make the team significantly worse by replacing Bree, Rothwell, Edozie and Sulemana with Walker-Peters, Smallbone, Adams and Adam Armstrong. To be fair, Walker-Peters lasted less than 20 minutes as he pulled up short and was himself replaced by Harwood-Bellis. This was concerning as we cannot afford to be without our starting right back for the crucial final fixtures, so let's hope it isn't anything serious.

Anyway, Saints continued to make chances, and from a corner, Edozie's pinpoint cross found Charles unmarked at the far post. However, he could only hit the side netting, and there was a definite feeling now that this was not to be their day.This was pretty much confirmed when Smallbone and Manning contrived to make a mess of things in midfield. Almost before you could blink, the ball was in the back of the net from a wonderful chip from Danns. 2-0, and it was now a mountain to climb.

Time ticked away, and Saints seemed to accept their fate, but it was made certain right at the death when Bradley shot, and Lumley could only parry it. It then fell to the feet of Danns, who made no mistake in scoring his second goal of the match.

So, the end of Saints' involvement in this year's FACup, but if we only had a predatory striker, then some of those multiple chances that were created would have been scored, but that has been the problem for several seasons now.

Man of the Match

It seems odd to have a 'Man of the Match' when we lost 3-0, but Joe Aribo impressed me today. He started the game well and played Mara through for the disallowed goal at the start. He continued in that vein throughout the first half and set up Sulemana when he hit the upright in the opening moments of the second. The significant change in his game is that he is strong, quick on the ball, and a vital part of a free-flowing midfield. It can't be a coincidence that this improvement began after he cut his hair short...