A summer of comings and goings had led to Trevor Francis’ squad enjoying mixed fortunes in the 02/03 Football League Division One.
Despite some impressive results in the league – including a 5-0 drubbing of Brighton & Hove Albion at Selhurst Park, courtesy of an Andy Johnson hat-trick – attempts to sustain promotion-pushing form ultimately ended in a 14th-placed finish.
As a result, many would have expected Palace’s FA Cup hopes to falter when Francis’ team were rewarded for overcoming Blackpool in the third round with a tie against Gerard Houllier’s Premier League title-chasing side.
Drawn at home initially, Palace’s supporters produced a fine atmosphere to welcome the Reds to Selhurst, pre-match fireworks setting the scene for a fizzing Cup tie.
Despite Liverpool’s greater riches – and a starting XI which included the likes of Jamie Carragher, Sami Hyypia, Danny Murphy, Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen – Palace had come closest to winning it late on when Emile Heskey intervened to divert Tony Popovic’s late header over the crossbar.
Few chances had preceded that moment, and so the game went to a replay at Anfield that few of a Palace persuasion will ever forget.