5 Greatest Battles of Britain
By Ryan Willox
4. Liverpool 1 Hearts 1, August 2012
Arguably the most controversial choice that is going to be on this list but it is included here at the expense of other more vaunted encounters as much to make a point.
The gulf in resources ensuring a stark gap in class between Liverpool and Heart of Midlothian should have guaranteed a canter for the Anfield outfit.
Hearts had crashed out of the same competition a season earlier on a 5-0 aggregate to Tottenham Hotspur, salvaging a modicum of pride with a 0-0 second leg draw against Spurs’ reserves at the Lane.
Liverpool’s 1-0 win at Tynecastle via an Andy Webster own goal looked to have essentially settled the tie despite a brave showing from the home side.
Yet as a nervy evening unfolded at Anfield all idea of a procession for Brendan Rodgers’ Reds slowly evaporated until the unthinkable happened minutes from time.
After Liverpool failed to adequately clear Heart’s first corner, David Templeton let fly from outside the box and Pep Reina somehow lost the flight of the ball, allowing it to squirm past him.
Now we were level and heading, unbelievably, to extra time. Or so it seemed until Luis Suarez intervened, three minutes from time.
Collecting the ball just inside the opposition half the Uruguay set off on a driving run, holding off challenges before sliding the ball home past the despairing Hearts’ keeper.
Proof then, that even in the age of Premier League television cash bonanza’s Scotland v England can still hold an audience in its thrall.