13 years is a long time in football. That time period can see teams surge up the league pyramid to bigger and better things, or clubs lose their previously high standing and fall towards non-league, and it's the latter that has occurred to Grimsby Town.
The Mariners are currently sitting in 11th place in the Conference Premier table, but ahead of their League Cup fixture with Liverpool at Anfield 13 years ago to this day, they were an established Football League outfit, competing in their fourth campaign in the old Division One after putting together finishes of 11th, 20th and 18th respectively.
After coming through home ties against Lincoln City and Sheffield United, Grimsby, who at the time were managed by Lennie Lawrence, were handed a lucrative trip to Merseyside to play Gerard Houllier's Liverpool, who had won four of their opening six Premier League fixtures and had gotten off to an unbeaten start in the Champions League.
Houllier rested a number of his star men for the visit of the Lincolnshire side, but his starting lineup still included seven internationals, with the likes of Sami Hyypia, Jamie Carragher, Danny Murphy, Dietmar Hamann and Jari Litmanen all being given the chance to help Liverpool to another victory early in the campaign.
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The notable name in the Grimsby team was boyhood Liverpool fan Phil Jevons, who had been signed from Everton for £250,000 after failing to score for the Toffees in eight Premier League appearances.
Liverpool had the better of the chances during the first half, with Nick Barmby bringing a decent stop from Danny Coyne at his near post, while Litmanen had an effort blocked on the line by Tony Gallimore after some fine approach play from Vladimir Smicer.
The Reds weren't completely dominating against their opponents, but they still created the clearest openings, with Litmanen having an overhead kick saved by Coyne before a header from substitute Emile Heskey was cleared off the line by Danny Butterfield.
Grimsby were unfortunate not to win a penalty in the closing stages after Michael Boulding had been felled by Hyypia, but the Mariners were delighted to take their more illustrious opponents to extra time after previously shipping 13 goals in their last four fixtures.
However, it was Liverpool who took the lead 11 minutes into the extra period when David Beharall was adjudged to have handled inside the penalty area, allowing Gary McAllister the opportunity to fire his spot kick to Coyne's left to leave the home side on the brink of a place in the last 16.
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With seven minutes remaining at Anfield, it appeared as though Grimsby's participation in the tournament was about to come to an end, but they continued to press forward and were rewarded when a cross from the right found Marlon Broomes, and the defender made no mistake with a volley from 12 yards that beat Chris Kirkland.
Murphy had a chance to win it for Liverpool when he powered into the box from the left flank, but after Coyne kept his attempt out, Grimsby, and Jevons, provided the contest with a fairytale ending as the former Everton player netted a stunning winner in the final minute of the game.
The forward picked up the ball around 40 yards from goal before advancing several strides forward and unleashing a blistering strike from 30 yards that beat Kirkland and found the top corner of the net, sending the holders out of the competition.
The draw for the fourth round provided Grimsby with a chance to register another triumph over a Premier League club after being given a trip to Highbury to face Arsenal, but the Gunners proved too strong on the night as goals from Edu and Sylvain Wiltord earned them a place in the quarter-finals.
Darren Plant
