BR: We can progress at second attempt
Brendan Rodgers believes his Liverpool players have the quality to find a route past Blackburn Rovers and into the semi-finals of the FA Cup despite the frustration of a goalless draw at Anfield on Sunday.
The Reds were thwarted by Championship outfit Rovers on a testing afternoon, meaning the teams will now need a replay to decide who progresses to Wembley for the last four clash.
Blackburn, who eliminated Swansea City and Stoke City en route to the quarter-finals, defended solidly in front of the Kop and the visitors were efficient in neutralising Liverpool's creative qualities.
Rodgers' charges have been in this situation before this season, however, against Bolton Wanderers in the fourth round of the competition, when Neil Lennon's outfit forced a repeat of the fixture, courtesy of a 0-0 draw.
Liverpool won the replay, just as they prevailed in away fixtures against AFC Wimbledon and Crystal Palace in their other FA Cup ties this campaign - and Rodgers is confident his players can summon a performance on the road once again.
"Of course we wanted to get through, but today we kept a clean sheet against a team that is a dangerous side, especially from set-pieces and long balls into the box," Rodgers told reporters following the final whistle.
"I thought in the main we defended well. We're still there to reach the semi-final. Of course you want to do it [first time] and get through, but we'll have plenty of coaching time to work. It just wasn't to be.
"I thought [the players] did well on the back of a really tough week of games. The objective in this game was to make sure that we were in the hat for the semi-final. We didn't win the game, but we're still in there and I'm very proud of the effort they put in.
"You've got to respect the opponent as well. We've been on a great run of form, winning games. It's difficult. We've got to go to Blackburn now and win, but we're more than capable of doing that. The players are focused and very concentrated on winning. If it's not to be at home, then we'll need to do it away."
The draw came on the back of two impressive victories in the space of four days at Anfield, over Manchester City and Burnley - wins which maintained Liverpool's unbeaten Barclays Premier League run throughout 2015.
Rodgers admitted the nature of those results detracted an element of sharpness from his side's approach against Blackburn, but he was keen to highlight how the visitors made life difficult with their organisation and determination.
"Over the last three months we've been in outstanding form," said Rodgers. "The physical and mental energy that we put into the games is at such a high level. Today we probably just lacked that little bit of sharpness, physically.
"You want to try to grind your way through the game and we did that. It was just unfortunate that we couldn't get the result. But it's natural. There's a physical energy in how we play and how we work. Sometimes there'll be a little bit of cost and I think you saw that. It affected the speed of our game."
Gary Bowyer's team had chances throughout the tie to score, particularly in the first half, but in the main they set about closing out the space for Liverpool to operate in.
The likes of Philippe Coutinho, who has dazzled for the Reds in recent weeks, was forced to move deeper and deeper in order to collect the ball, while Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge were put under constant pressure by the opposition.
"I thought Blackburn had a great effort here," said Rodgers. "We've seen it with the Championship teams when they have come here and drawn in the 90 minutes. We had it with Middlesbrough and also with Bolton.
"But we've got big confidence, whether we're home and away, that we can get a result. But give credit to Blackburn because they defended very, very well. They defended in a low block really well, put their bodies on the line and made it very difficult for us."