Liverpool did enough to leave Anfield with a 5-1 victory over a stubborn Oldham outfit to claim their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Friday.
It was Oldham who started the game at a much higher pace than their Premiership counterparts, with the first chance falling to Shefki Kuqi who muscled his way straight through the Liverpool defense drill his shot off the side-netting.
Liverpool struggled to get into their stride, and Oldham came close again when Tom Adeyemi saw his header from a Robbie Simpson corner sail just wide.
Chris Taylor was also presented with a great opportunity, but Jamie Carragher did just enough to put him off, and his shot sailed harmlessly wide.
The home side were still struggling to create anything meaningful, and paid the price when Simpson picked the ball up about 30 yards from the Liverpool goal, took one touch and then fired his shot past Reina and into the corner, giving the visitors a deserved lead.
This seemed to awaken Liverpool, and it didn’t take the hosts long to equalise. Jonjo Shelvey received the ball on the edge of the Oldham box just over a minute later and let loose, and his shot deflected off Craig Bellamy and found the back of the net.
Liverpool began to find their stride, and almost got a second through Maxi Rodriguez, but his effort was well saved by Alex Cisak.
Liverpool did pick up the pace, but still struggled to create much. However, they were awarded a penalty when Adeyemi was deemed to have fouled Rodriguez in the box and Gerrard slotted the ball home to give Liverpool the lead at the interval.
The second half saw the hosts look much more like the dominant side. Both sides came out guns blazing, but it wasn’t long before Liverpool established control over the game.
Bellamy looked dangerous all night, but it was Martin Kelly who had the first real chance, but Cisak pulled off a fantastic save from close range to deny the England U-21.
Oldham still looked dangerous on the counter, but failed to create anything meaningful, and paid the price when Shelvey won the ball outside the Oldham box, played a one-two with Bellamy and slotted the ball home for his first Liverpool goal.
Liverpool calmed down after scoring their third, and while they still looked dangerous, they seemed content to see the game out with their two goal cushion, but Andy Carroll came off the bench to score with almost his first touch in the 89th minute to ensure that there were no last minute surprises in store for Liverpool.
The hosts weren’t finished though, and Stuart Downing made it 5-1 with virtually the last kick of the game to give Liverpool a comfortable victory and put them into the fourth round of the competition.