Tonge’s double strike gives Sheffield United the edge

But 19-year-old Tonge struck in the 76th and 82nd minutes to turn the tie around and give his side a real chance of reaching their first major final since 1936 when they appeared in the last of their six FA Cup finals.

Finals are regular fare for Liverpool, who have won the League Cup a record six times, including two years ago in what became a cup treble, and they looked on course for another final appearance after totally dominating from the start. They had a couple of half chances when Mellor shot wide and Finnish centre back Sami Hyypia headed over from a corner. But the two men combined in the 35th minute to break the deadlock, Hyypia flicking on a Danny Murphy free kick and 20-year-old Mellor nipping it to head the ball home for his first senior goal.

It was a fair reward for Liverpool’s dominance of the first 45 minutes as the home side were unable to show any of the form that knocked out Leeds United and Sunderland earlier in the competition and which has taken them to third place in the first division.

Liverpool continued to look the most likely and El Hadji Diouf forced a sharp save from Patrick Kenny after 65 minutes. United finally gave their fans a moment of hope in the 72nd minute when Peter Ndlovu and Wayne Allison forced Chris Kirkland into action.