First division Wolverhampton Wanderers squandered a 2-0 lead but still came back for a thrilling 3-2 FA Cup victory over Newcastle United in the FA Cup third round on Sunday.
Liverpool had earlier beaten a lackluster Manchester City 1-0 and Fulham had trounced Birmingham City 3-1 to reach the fourth round in their all-Premier League games.
PHOTO: AP
But the second biggest shock of the round, after Everton's defeat to third division Shrewsbury on Saturday, was at Molineux where Wolves, 10th in the 24 team first division, won a pulsating Cup tie after seemingly throwing it away.
Former England midfielder Paul Ince put them ahead after six minutes and Ireland midfielder Mark Kennedy made it 2-0 before two goals just before the break from Jermaine Jenas and Alan Shearer, from the penalty spot, made it all square.
But Wolves striker George Ndah got the winner, bundling the ball home four minutes after the re-start, and his side clung on for victory after a nerve-jangling finale in which both sides had a goal disallowed.
Liverpool's England midfielder Danny Murphy converted a second-half penalty to secure a fully-deserved victory at Maine Road after the hosts simply failed to perform.
City's French striker Nicolas Anelka, who had been hoping to upset the club where he spent a loan spell last season, fell foul of Liverpool's well-organized offside trap and was let down by a lack of service from his teammates.
Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier, whose side have endured the club's worse league run since 1953 to 1954 after failing to win any of their last 10 league games, was a relieved man.
"We decided a few things that will invert the situation and I'm sure that from this game onwards we will step up in every game," Houllier told Sky Sports.
Houllier believes that although Liverpool have slumped to seventh place in the league standings, a full 12 points behind leaders Arsenal, their title challenge is not over yet.
"The second part of the season will be vital for us," said the Frenchman. "We haven't ruled ourselves out of anything.
"We play every game to win. At times it doesn't pay off. But out of the 22 games we've played in the league, I think only two we didn't deserve to win -- but sometimes we made individual mistakes and they cost us the points."
City manager Kevin Keegan had no real complaints about his side's exit, spelling the end of FA Cup football at Maine Road as the club are moving to a new ground next season.
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