Battling Blackburn hold Liverpool to FA Cup stalemate

The in-form Premier League side, who had not lost a home game since early November, were shut out for a second time in this season's competition by another stubborn Championship opponent.

While the Fourth Round draw with Bolton was due to the heroics of the visiting keeper, this result was down to the dogged determination and organisation of Gary Bowyer’s defensive unit.

And although Liverpool enjoyed much of the possession, Blackburn could well have been celebrating a place in the semi-final, had Craig Conway not snatched at his first-half chance that should have punished Liverpool instead of finding the stands, or had Simon Mignolet not been alert to Alex Baptiste's second-half header.

As it is, they will meet again at Ewood Park in early April with a place at Wembley Stadium up for grabs.

The game was less than three minutes old when Martin Skrtel was wiped out during an aerial challenge with Rudy Gestede. 

Gary Bowyer and Brendan Rodgers chat before kick-off

Falling awkwardly, the Slovakian defender received treatment for seven minutes as he laid flat on the turf, and was unable to continue. Kolo Toure came on in his place as Brendan Rodgers was forced into an early re-shuffle. 

The Liverpool fans in the Centenary Stand were cheering when they thought Liverpool had taken the lead, but quickly realised the double defensive ricochet from Raheem Sterling’s cross hit the net support behind the goal.

Liverpool, who had been enjoying a rich vein of form coming into the tie, thought Adam Lallana’s appeals for a penalty were justified following Matt Kilgallon’s tackle inside the six-yard box. However, Andre Marriner did not, and pointed for a corner.

While the home side were on top, Blackburn made it difficult for them to create anything of note, getting back in numbers and exploiting space on the right when balls out towards Sterling failed to reach the England forward.

Adam Lallana plays a pass

Conway burst forward on one occasion and Toure, the only defender in sight, made a well-timed interception. But the Championship side came straight back, and Glen Johnson was forced into a desperate header from a right-wing cross that almost sneaked by Mignolet.

Rovers probably should have taken the lead with 31 minutes played when Conway met Ben Marshall’s pass across the box. But he fired over the bar from 18 yards when he perhaps had more time to compose himself.

Almost instantly, Liverpool fans had thought they had scored again, and this time the ball did end up in the back of the net when Toure smashed home from close-range. The Ivorian was offside, however.

The quick, incisive passing that Anfield has become accustomed to recently was lacking during a first half that yielded just two efforts on target - Lazar Markovic’s deflected strike into the arms of Simon Eastwood and Daniel Sturridge’s drive that the keeper beat away well.

Rudy Gestede jumps with Liverpool's Emre Can

It was a save from Mignolet four minutes in to the second half that kept the scores level – and a fine stop it was.

Baptiste met a Conway delivery from a corner on the right and his arrowed header was bound for the top angle of the net, above the reach of Lallana defending the post. The Belgian stopper sensed the danger instinctively to claw away superbly.

Liverpool needed to up their tempo if they were to avoid a similar fate to their FA Cup meeting with Blackburn 15 years earlier, and began to impose themselves on the visitor’s penalty area.

Rovers’ forays forward were few and far between with the preservation of their clean sheet clearly the main objective, but Gestede was a significant presence occupying the Reds rearguard.

Simon Eastwood blocks a shot from Kolo Toure

Rodgers also introduced Mario Balotelli in place on Markovic to try and open up Bowyer’s resilient side, who filled their box with blue and white shirts whenever Liverpool came forward. 

The Italian’s first effort highlighted the frustrations they were feeling thanks to Blackburn’s defensive organisation as he fired from 30 yards high into the Rovers fans behind the goal. His second from a bit closer was better but was safely gathered by Eastwood.

Balotelli turned provider for Sturridge, flicking on into his path for another Liverpool attempt, but his first-time volley was also off target, leaving Blackburn to reflect on a much-deserved draw.

Liverpool (3-4-2-1): 22 Simon Mignolet; 2 Glen Johnson, 6 Dejan Lovren, 37 Martin Skrtel; , 50 Lazar Markovic, 14 Jordan Henderson (c), 23 Emre Can, 31 Raheem Sterling; 10 Philippe Coutinho, 20 Adam Lallana; 15 Daniel Sturridge.

Substitutes: 4 Kolo Toure on for Skrtel 10, 45 Mario Balotelli for Markovic 59.

Subs not used: 52 Danny Ward, 9 Rickie Lambert, 19 Alberto Moreno, 17 Mamadou Sakho, 49 Jordan Williams.

Bookings: Can.

Blackburn Rovers (4-2-3-1): 13 Simon Eastwood; 2 Adam Henley, 15 Alex Baptiste, 4 Matthew Kilgallon (c), 14 Markus Olsson; 17 Lee Williamson, 29 Corry Evans; 32 Craig Conway, 10 Tom Cairney, 12 Ben Marshall; 39 Rudy Gestede.

Substitutes: 19 Chris Taylor for Marshall 68.

Subs not used: 30 Jason Steele, 3 Tommy Spurr, 9 Chris Brown, 11 Jordan Rhodes, 23 Doneil Henry, 26 Darragh Lenihan.

Bookings: Cairney.

Referee: Andre Marriner. 

Attendance: 43,820.