HYYPIA DREAMING OF WEMBLEY
Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia revealed he has one eye on a first appearance at Wembley after he helped the Reds secure a place in the last 16 of the Carling Cup.
The 34-year-old put in a typically assured performance at the heart of Liverpool's defence as they ran out 2-1 winners over Crewe at Anfield.
Daniel Agger and Lucas got on the scoresheet but the margin of victory should have been greater for Rafael Benitez's side, who were let down by poor finishing and some superb saves by Crewe goalkeeper Steve Collis.
Hyypia, who captained the side against Crewe, won the trophy in 2001 and 2003 and was a finalist in 2005 but all of the games were played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
He said: "I have not played at Wembley so for me personally, to go there and get a game would be great.
"Crewe made it difficult but that's what you are always going to get against a lower division side - they fight until the end and that's what happened.
"Maybe we could have played a bit better in the second half but it was a tough match and in the end we have to be happy to go through.
"It was a good battle and I'm happy because maybe the League Cup is a competition in which I will play, so I'm very happy we got through to the next round and hopefully it will mean another game for me."
Finland international Hyypia was impressed with central defensive partner Agger and Brazilian midfielder Lucas with both players giving Benitez a reminder of their abilities ahead of the Merseyside derby at the weekend.
"It was a great goal from Daniel, everybody knows he can strike the ball well and it was a perfect effort," Hyypia added.
"It's good if you can score from every department on the pitch - that's very important.
"Lucas scored a good goal too and hopefully it will give him confidence for the future."
Former Liverpool youth team defender Danny O'Donnell lined up for Crewe and was ecstatic to finally play in a "serious" fixture at Anfield.
The 22-year-old never made a competitive first-team appearance for the Reds and moved to Gresty Road initially on loan in August 2006 before the move was made permanent four months later.
"It was an awesome night - from the final whistle and having 'You'll Never Walk Alone' sung by a packed Kop, to the way we played was a brilliant experience for everyone," O'Donnell said.
"It was nice for me to come back and see some old faces and I thought I did quite well, especially when you see the calibre of players we were up against.
"I must admit the heart raced a bit when I saw (Fernando) Torres coming on and then Robbie Keane. They are top-quality players and to play against them is something I will never forget.
"Now we have to get our feet quickly on the floor and we start preparing for Bristol Rovers this weekend. We have got to take the positives from this game and start to grind out some clean sheets in the league."
