Substitutes not used: Bjornebye, Murphy, Friedel (gk).Referee: M Reed (Birmingham).Bookings: Sheffield Wednesday Hyde, Rudi; Liverpool Harkness.Attendance: 35,405.Man of the match: Owen.. Having been caught out of position by Carbone, he was beaten by a header from Paolo di Canio and then dropped Mark Pembridge's shot at Andy Hinchcliffe's feet. But when chances fell to Owen, they were taken with a coolness and precision that is extraordinary in one so young.Having beaten Pressman in a one-on-one to nullify Benito Carbone's early strike, Owen did so again to equalise for the second time. In between, he dispatched a tightly-angled rebound with power and accuracy after Fowler's shot had come back off the woodwork.
In the last minute, had Pressman strayed a little further from his line, a dipping curler might have brought him a fourth and an unlikely Liverpool win.But such an outcome would have papered over cracks of which Evans is only too aware. Much as they controlled midfield, Liverpool were sloppy in defence, allowing a Wednesday side that often squandered possession to profit three times.Behind them, David James hardly inspired confidence. Coventry had been palpably superior, but found Mark Bosnich in the kind of form which convinces forwards that some things are pre-ordained.Significantly, it was the newest members of Strachan's squad - whose lack of grounding in the mythology of Midlands football may have rendered the psychological barrier irrelevant - who lifted the spell. The Dutchman, George Boateng, drove through three challenges. Bosnich did well to parry his shot but Romania's Moldovan pounced on the rebound like some latterday Keith Houchen.The form of Dion Dublin and Darren Huckerby means that Moldovan, Coventry's record recruit at pounds 3.25m, has still to start a match. According to Strachan he is "twitchy" about the lack of opportunities to impress his country's coach in World Cup year. If the Romanians are not watching then perhaps England, their first-phase opponents, ought to be.It is also time the Netherlands took a look at Boateng.
Snapped up for pounds 250,000 because Feyenoord knew he could soon leave for nothing under Bosman, the 22-year-old midfielder may not be as technically accomplished as Clarence Seedorf. But he has a big heart, not always a conspicuous quality in Dutch sides, and his distribution has improved so dramatically that Gary McAllister has hardly been missed.The Scotland captain's influence on Gavin Strachan, the manager's son, was transparent. He oozed maturity on his full debut, while Dublin switched seamlessly to centre-back after Richard Shaw gave way to Moldovan. Strachan Snr may have rued his luck when Shaw was hurt but, if fate was at work, it was a benign variety.On such twists are Cup legends forged. Coventry are in the last eight for the first time since they won at Wembley in 1987. Far from stopping Sky Blues supporters from believing in history's capacity to repeat itself, Saturday's poke in the eye for precedent has encouraged them to see parallels.
