Luton Town got the draw they wanted, Liverpool got one that they did not. A replay at Anfield a week tomorrow will help to staunch the flow of money out of the Coca-Cola League One club, but a failure to beat a team 60 league places below them was not exactly the resounding statement that Rafael BenÍtez, the Liverpool manager, would have demanded.

Even wider than the gap in league places between the clubs is the financial gulf. Luton are losing about £400,000 per month and went into administration in November. Their players have been paid only a fraction of their wages since then and Brendan Guilfoyle, the administrator, has called for offers for the club by 5pm today.

Luton made about £250,000 in gate and television money from yesterday’s match and their share of the proceeds at Anfield will be worth a further £400,000, which more than makes up for Liverpool’s refusal to donate their share of yesterday’s gate to their struggling opponents.

“With the things that are going on it was the perfect result,” Kevin Blackwell, the Luton manager, said. “I think we edged them in the chances that we created, our passing, our invention, our movement. Football-wise, I’m disappointed we haven’t won; but for the survival of the football club, a fantastic result. This means that, hopefully, the players will get a couple of weeks’ more wages, to see them through January.

“We have got to make the club as attractive a proposition as we can, for an investor to come in and say, ‘I like what I see here.’ The problem is that I have to get someone in quickly so that I can tell the players that they may not get paid but someone is definitely going to buy the club. If I can’t do that by about the 24th or 25th of January, I’ve got to sell players to raise money to fulfil the fixtures. But I don’t want to lose the team I’m trying to build. Surely anyone who saw that [display against Liverpool] would think we have something going here.”

Fabio Capello, the England manager, probably booked his trip to Kenilworth Road in expectation of seeing Steven Gerrard, but with the Liverpool captain absent with a calf injury, Peter Crouch was the only recent England squad member on show.

Unfortunately, although Crouch put Liverpool ahead with a second-half tap-in, he was upstaged by Barnsley-born Drew Talbot, 21, whose pace kept the Liverpool defence at full stretch and whose cross created Luton’s equaliser, an own goal by John Arne Riise. “He’d have had to watch the Luton players if he wanted an England player, wouldn’t he?” Blackwell said. “I think Mr Capello understands now that the depth of football goes deeper here than in Italy.”

Although Ryan Babel forced a save from Dean Brill, the Luton goalkeeper, in the opening minute, Luton had much the better of the first half, forcing a series of corners and creating some dangerous situations, usually through Talbot. It was not until the 51st minute that Liverpool called Brill into further action, flinging out his left arm to block after Riise’s rocket of a shot was deflected by Chris Perry.

Talbot, though, fluffed his best chance. Darren Currie picked him out with a cross and although the Luton forward got in front of Sami Hyypia, he put his header over the crossbar and Luton paid for the miss. In the 73rd minute, Perry’s misplaced header gave Andriy Voronin a run on Brill. The goalkeeper parried the Ukrainian forward’s shot, but the ball ran free for Crouch to roll into the net.

If Liverpool thought that that had handed them victory, they were mistaken. Three minutes later, Talbot’s cross from the left missed Dave Edwards, its intended target, but Riise, sliding in behind, managed to hit his attempted clearance on to his own arm and back into the Liverpool net.

Blackwell now expects bids for his players, all of whom, in theory, are available. “I’m very proud,” he said.

“The two lads up front gave Hyypia and Carragher as hard a game as they’ve had for a long time, but I’m sure my phone will be red hot. Not knowing what’s happening from tomorrow onwards and to play like that is terrific. Luton is a club worth saving, but people have got to get off their backside and do something about it.”

Luton (4-4-2) D Brill 8 K Keane 6 C Coyne 6 C Perry 6 A Goodall 6 D Bell 5 M Spring 5 D Edwards 7 D Currie 7 D Talbot 8 C Andrew 7. Substitutes not used D Hutchison, R Jackson, S Robinson, S O’Leary, P Furlong.

Liverpool (4-4-2) C Itandje 7 S Finnan 5 S Hyypia Y 6 J Carragher 7 J A Riise Y 5 Y Benayoun 6 X Alonso Y 6 Lucas Leiva 5 R Babel 5 D Kuyt 5 P Crouch 5. Substitutes A Voronin 6 (for Babel, 70min), J Mascherano (for Alonso, 74), N El Zhar (for Benayoun, 86). Not used D Martin, J Hobbs.

Referee H Webb
Attendance 10,226

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