Watford 0 - 1 Liverpool

Watford 0-1 Liverpool

Updated: January 25, 2005, 10:00 PM UK

Steven Gerrard fired Liverpool into the Carling Cup final with the only goal to secure a 2-0 aggregate victory and end brave Watford's dreams of glory at Vicarage Road.

• Gerrard happy with Cardiff date

The England midfielder had given the Reds the narrowest of margins to defend from the first leg two weeks ago.

And the Reds skipper made sure there would be no repeat of their FA Cup humiliation at Burnley with a late second-half strike to give boss Rafael Benitez the chance to secure some silverware in his maiden season at Anfield against either Manchester United or Chelsea next month.

The Coca-Cola Championship side had already put out top-flight clubs Southampton and Portsmouth here this season but knew they had to score to stand any chance of progressing further.

And they started brightly in front of a partisan crowd, Hameur Bouazza almost getting away down the left channel before Steve Finnan hacked clear.

Gerrard was, though, also full of early running, and a neat one-two with John Arne Riise nearly made an opening for a shot from the edge of the Watford box.

Watford hustled well around the midfield and restricted the Barclays Premiership club to some hopeful punts into the box rather than anything which would cause former Red Paul Jones much concern in the host's goal.

The Hornets were looking to get Heidar Helguson clear behind the Liverpool backline as often as possible. In the 11th minute, Gavin Mahon's run and pass put the Icelander through but the assistant's flag was swiftly raised.

Liverpool could have taken the upper hand after 17 minutes when Riise swung the ball in from the left and it needed a timely header from Jay Demerit to clear, with Fernando Morientes lurking in the six-yard box.

The home crowd were then warmed when Paul Devlin sent James Chambers away down the right but his centre was cut out and the resulting corner came to nothing.

In the 27th minute, Gerrard fed Morientes on the edge of the Watford box. The former Real Madrid striker got plenty on his shot but crucially so did Neil Cox and the ball spun just wide of Jones' left-hand post.

At the other end, Helguson's knockdown set up a chance for Mahon but the Hornet's skipper could not keep his effort on target.

In the 32nd minute, Liverpool should have better when Gerrard broke down the left after his defence had cleared a Watford free-kick.

The England man surged to the edge of the area, only to then make a complete hash of his attempted square ball to Morientes, delivering an uncharacteristic stray pass a couple of yards behind the Spain striker who would have had a clear shot on goal.

Watford upped the tempo as the break approached but despite some positive approach play they did not really trouble the Liverpool back four.

However, the Watford fans were screaming for a penalty when Bouazza went to ground in the box following Finnan's challenge but referee Mike Riley was unmoved.

It needed a saving tackle from Cox to stop Baros in his tracks as the Czech striker raced into the Watford box not long after the start of the second half, before Morientes sent an ambitious 15-yard bicycle kick over the crossbar.

Helguson held the ball up well on the edge of the Liverpool box but could not find Bouazza with a pass inside the defence.

Jermaine Darlington's drilled cross from the left then had to be hacked away by Mauricio Pellegrino as the home supporters turned up the volume.

With 55 minutes gone Lewington introduced former Manchester United youngster Danny Webber for Bouazza but it was soon Liverpool's turn to have an appeal for a penalty turned away when Gerrard collapsed somewhat theatrically under pressure from Chambers, Riley again unimpressed.

With the match entering its closing stages and Liverpool still ahead, the Hornets had to raise their game if they were to revive the tie.

Morientes could have made sure of the result when the ball dropped to him just inside the box but was soon crowded out by a determined home defence.

And it was left to skipper Gerrard to book his side's place in the final with a well-worked goal after 77 minutes.

The England midfielder won the ball in the air, before collecting Riise's quick pass and holding off the Watford defence to slot past Jones' right hand from the edge of the box.

Helguson headed over from a corner with six minutes left but it was not to be for the Championship side as the travelling Liverpool fans celebrated another appearance in the final of the League Cup.

The only worry for Liverpool was an injury to Florent Sinama-Pongolle who, two minutes after coming on as an 85th-minute substitute for Baros, was carried off on a stretcher after falling awkwardly and appearing to injure his right knee.

Gerrard happy with Cardiff date

Steven Gerrard hailed a winning game-plan after Liverpool reached the Carling Cup final.

Gerrard scored the only goal of the first leg match at Anfield and it was the same story at Vicarage Road tonight as Rafael Benitez's men ended a run of three defeats without a goal with a 1-0 win.

The result earns them a February 27 clash against the winners of tomorrow's Manchester United v Chelsea clash at Old Trafford.

Liverpool played a 4-5-1 formula tonight and the England international told Sky Sports: 'We've used 4-5-1 before in the league and it's worked quite well.

'It means we can also have three up front, or three central midfielders.

'We had a game-plan before the game and it worked today.'

But Gerrard added: 'When you are drawn against a team lower it's a potential banana skin.

'We've coped well over the two legs but Watford have done well and, give them credit, they made it hard work for us.'

'We've got a cup final to look forward to in front of 70,000 people at Cardiff.

'As a professional you want to play in as many finals as you can.'

Team-mate Steve Finnan added: 'Last week was a disappointing week but we've got confidence in everyone's ability.

'We were up for it tonight and I think we deserved it on the night.

'We knew what score would get us through - we kept tight at the back and Steven popped up with the goal.'

Benitez himself said: 'It was a very, very important for us, the supporters and the club.

'We are in the final, we know it was difficult tonight, but we are there.'

The Spaniard insisted criticism of his team after the defeats to Manchester United, Burnley and Southampton did not deflect his team's focus from tonight's job.

He continued: 'We were always thinking about the game - not about people talking.

'We prefer to work and now we will try to give our supporters the cup.

'We have a very good squad with good professionals and good players and played a good game tonight.'

Watford manager Ray Lewington had no complaints about the result after admitting their Premiership opponents had made it difficult for them.

'Fair play to Liverpool, they came today and restricted what we could do. They changed their system and stifled us and they did all the ugly things well,' he said.

'They closed us down quickly. We tried hard but we couldn't break them down and we didn't have much of a chance on goal.

'I think they paid us some respect tonight. They played it right and it was frustrating for us but they did the job well.'

Lewington felt Liverpool's poor week - league defeats to Manchester United and Southampton and an embarrassing FA Cup exit to Burnley - actually did his side no favours.

'The FA Cup defeat and the poor performance at Southampton made them more determined to do a job tonight,' he told Sky Sports.

'I think what it did was concentrate their minds that they had to go through and they changed their systems - but we did not have enough to open them up.'