Liverpool in the cup once is nice. Twice is like a dream come true. But three times in 25 months? Get serious!

I remember speaking to Oldham Athletic chairman Simon Corney just over a year ago, shortly after his team had pulled the Merseyside giants out of the hat for a dream third-round tie. They say lightning doesn’t strike twice, but in the case of Corney and Oldham, the reward for this week’s win over Mansfield Town is quite some prize.

A best of three serious must be beyond Corney’s wildest dreams and I’m pretty sure he’s been inundated for calls for friends, family and well-wishers asking for tickets.

The Latics were ultimately well-beaten in round one, but they gave the mighty Reds payback of the highest order in January when they claimed a famous 3-2 victory.

With Dean Furman having moved on, it will need someone else to step up and mark Liverpool’s card again.
The cash-strapped Division One outfit recently unveiled a new stand at their Boundary Park ground and Corney estimated that the club made in the region of £600,000 from the first two games.

No doubt Corney will be delighted that England duo Steven Gerrard and Daniel Sturridge are currently out injured, but I just hope he doesn’t come away from the latest encounter as pale as Spurs chief Daniel Levy did after the 5-0 Premier League demolition of Spurs.

* The words goal machine and Scott Shulton have rarely been seen in the same sentence, until recently that is. The West Ham fan’s heroics for the Maccabi GB team this season have been recognised by the England Development Futsal squad and he was in fine form upon his call-up to the team HQ at Lilleshall.