Derby of disaster memories

LIVERPOOL will face Everton in a repeat of the 1989 English FA Cup final only weeks before the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.

LIVERPOOL will face Everton in a repeat of the 1989 English FA Cup final only weeks before the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.

The Merseyside derby was the highlight of the fourth-round draw, which also condemned Tottenham Hotspur to a second successive trip to Old Trafford after Manchester United booked their place with a 3-0 win away to Southampton.

Everton's short trip to Anfield on the weekend of January 24 and 25 will evoke memories of the city being united in tragedy during the 1988-1989 season, which ended with the clubs meeting in the FA Cup final at Wembley in May, where Liverpool won 3-2.

The final was considered to be the perfect match to mark the tragedy the previous month of the semifinal against Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough, which resulted in the death of 96 Liverpool fans.

Liverpool are planning several events to commemorate the anniversary. It will be given added poignancy by a first FA Cup meeting with Everton since a fifth-round second replay in 1991, when Kenny Dalglish resigned as manager after a thrilling 4-4 draw in the initial replay.

Dalglish has often cited the emotional turmoil caused by Hillsborough as one of the reasons for his shock departure, and Jamie Carragher highlighted the significance of this year's FA Cup this week by pledging to win the competition in memory of the victims.

"Hillsborough is something we are all obviously aware of," Carragher said. "Extra significance will be attached to the competition for us. Winning it would be the perfect tribute to those who died."

Liverpool, who will face Everton twice in a week because of an English Premier League meeting at Anfield on January 19, could clash with the England Football Association and TV companies over the scheduling of the fourth-round tie.

Under the terms of a new contract with Setanta and ITV, one match in each round takes place on a Friday night this season, which would present a problem for Liverpool because Steven Gerrard is due in court on January 23.

This would rule him out of a match that evening. Gerrard faces charges of assault and affray at Sefton Magistrate's Court after an incident at a Southport nightclub last week.

Harry Redknapp's grip on the trophy that he won with Portsmouth in May was looser after Tottenham were handed a daunting trip to Old Trafford, where they lost 3-1 under Juande Ramos in the fourth round last year.

Nevertheless, United manager Alex Ferguson has revenge on his mind. He has not forgotten the way in which Portsmouth, under Redknapp, ended his team's hopes of winning four trophies with a controversial 1-0 win at Old Trafford in the quarterfinals. - ©The Times, London