Oldham stun Liverpool to cause major FA Cup upset

Oldham stun Liverpool to cause major FA Cup upset
Reds manager Brendan Rodgers was upset with Liverpool's young players after a shock FA Cup fourth-round defeat by Oldham. The League One side beat the seven-times FA Cup winners 3-2 on Sunday with striker Matt Smith scoring twice. Rodgers said: "I was bitterly disappointed with the young players as they had a chance to compete for a club that has to challenge for trophies. We lost our concentration and only had spells in the last 35 minutes when we were at the right level. The intensity of our game was nowhere near where it should be at the beginning. We gave the ball away too easily and were not strong enough physically. Congratulations to Oldham, though." With Steven Gerrard on the bench, Liverpool were captained by Luis Suarez and Rodgers sent in Daniel Sturridge, Fabio Borini and Raheem Sterling in attack with Joe Allen and Jordan Henderson in the middle of the pitch. But striker Smith and fellow forward Robbie Simpson tormented centre-backs Sebastian Coates and Martin Skrtel all afternoon. Oldham are currently 19th in League One, just a point above the relegation zone, and their third-round FA Cup win against Nottingham Forest was their only victory in their last nine games. Smith scored either side of Luis Suarez's goal, with Reece Wabara heading another goal after half-time to put Paul Dickov's Oldham 3-1 up. ALiverpool fought back to score through a Joe Allen volley with 12 minutes remaining but Oldham held their ground to advance to the next round. "Matt Smith is a good player but we have played against that type before," added Rodgers. "The FA Cup was a competition we wanted to have a go at and there is no excuse, we put out a strong team capable of winning the game but we didn't. There is no excuse. You have to take it on the chin, but there has been plenty of warnings throughout the weekend if your application is not right you can get found out." The defeat means that Liverpool's only chance of challenging for a trophy in Brendan Rodgers's debut season is in the Europa League, with the Reds facing Russian side Zenit St Petersburg on 14 February. Here are the odds for that match from Bet365: Zenit win - 5/4 Draw - 9/4 Liverpool win - 9/4
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