Liverpool Ease Past Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup 5th Round

Liverpool ended the dream of Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion with an emphatic five goal win at Anfield.

Goals from Skrtel, Carroll, Suarez and three own goals capped a night of misery for Gus Poyet's men. 

In front of a packed Anfield crowd, Liverpool took the lead in the fifth minute from an acutely headed Martin Skrtel goal. The visitors edged their way back into the game after 17 minutes with a perfectly placed LuaLua free kick.

The momentum took a huge shift in the Merseysider's direction as they went into the halftime break 2-1 up.

The second half was one to forget for The Seagulls as they capitulated defensively to allow Liverpool to score four more. Luis Suarez even had time to miss from the spot and avoid heaping more misery on Brighton.

The Reds will now continue their march towards a Carling and FA Cup double.

In the early kickoff in the FA Cup, Stoke survived a deserved dismissal to see off the lowest ranked side remaining in the competition in the shape of Crawley Town. A first-half Jonathan Walters penalty coupled with a Peter Crouch sealed a hard-fought win against the League Two outfit.

Stoke's reward for their efforts will be a difficult away trip to Anfield.

Elsewhere, Stevenage will be celebrating an heroic performance after holding Premier League high flyers Tottenham Hotspur to a draw at Broadhall Way. The closest either side came to claiming a victory was a when on-loan striker Louis Saha had a goal disallowed for offside.

Harry Redknapp will not welcome another fixture as they keep up their chase for top spot in the league. The flip-side is that it offers League One side Stevenage a fantastic chance of a deserved payday when they visit White Harte Lane.

The draw for the FA Cup sixth round was completed and there is a strong potential for an all Premier League semi-final.

The following fixtures will take place on the weekend of the 17th and 18th March 2012.

Liverpool v. Stoke City

Chelsea or Birmingham v. Leicester City

Stevenage or Tottenham v. Bolton

Everton v. Sunderland