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Liverpool win FA Cup thriller
13/05/2006 21:48 - (SA)
Cardiff - Liverpool won the FA Cup for the seventh time on Saturday.
They beat West Ham United on penalties after the teams were level at 3-3 after extra time.
Liverpool keeper Jose Reina saved three of the four West Ham penalties he faced, becoming the hero after handing West Ham two goals from errors earlier in the match.
One of the greatest of the 125 FA Cup finals was taken into extra time by a stunning last-minute 30m shot by Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard.
West Ham had blasted into a two goal lead when Jamie Carragher turned a low cross into his own goal after 20 minutes, and Dean Ashton pounced eight minutes later after Liverpool keeper Jose Reina spilled a Matthew Etherington shot.
Djibril Cisse pulled one back with a neat volley after 32 minutes.
Gerrard, whose pinpoint pass led to Cisse's goal, equalised with a thunderous shot in the 54th as both teams poured everything into attack.
West Ham regained the lead when fullback Paul Konchesky's attempted cross from the left caught out Reina and curved into the top corner in the 64th minute.
West Ham's fans were singing to claim their first FA Cup triumph since 1980 until Gerrard's brilliant intervention.
They were denied again in the last minute of extra time, when Reina pushed a bundled effort against a post.
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