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THE date will be forever red in the Bolton Wanderers calendar.
It will go down in history as the night 8,500 Bolton fans, a magnanimous beaten manager and the famous Kop saluted each and every one of Bruce Rioch's heroes.
Bolton Wanderers, the club that in days long gone revelled in FA Cup glory, became true giant-killers for the first time last night.
Every player outstanding in his own right, they outplayed the proud holders, who knew they'd survived a fright at Burnden in the first game but didn't for one minute think they'd be so humiliated in the replay.
Yet Wanderers were in charge from start to finish, even before John McGinlay headed them in front so spectacularly in the third minute. When Andy Walker headed the second 11 minutes from time it merely confirmed their overwhelming dominance of an amazing cup tie.
They controlled the game, played the better football and quite ruthlessly embarrassed the most successful club side of modern times.
This was no fluke. There were no hard luck stories for Graeme Souness to relate as he reflected on the effective end of Liverpool's season in mid-January would you believe? No Anfield manager has been in that position for more than 30 years.
True, Liverpool are not the side they were even before being ravaged by injuries. Nevertheless they were still able to field seven internationals.
Take nothing away from Wanderers. Last night they damaged the bedrock of Merseyside football. They might even have signalled the end of an era although not a single Bolton player would delight in that.
What they will delight in is a richly deserved win one of the most remarkable victories in their history, which includes four tremendous FA Cup triumphs.
They tried to milk the occasion for all it was worth but the celebrations in front of their vast army of ecstatic supporters were all too brief. Each Bolton player would have embraced every fan, if time had permitted.
The scenes were fantastic.
Those who saw it witnessed a famous victory, the biggest upset of the season. But, to those who have seen this revitalised Bolton side set standards higher than anything seen in more than a decade, the performance was no real shock.
Maybe others will now start to wonder why David Lee didn't make it at Southampton. We all continue to be puzzled by Liam Brady's opinion that Andy Walker was surplus to requirements at Celtic.
What people might now start acknowledging is that Wanderers can be a force in the game. But that is for the days to come. The night that mattered saw Lee, in breath-takingly menacing mood, set up one of the most comprehensive demolition jobs ever effected on a Liverpool side.
He left Mike Marsh for dead before deIivering the perfect early cross for McGinlay to head home at the back post to give Wanderers a dream start.
They'd had a similar early tonic, also from McGinlay, in the first game. But the difference was that this time they weren't going to waste it.
They had their scares. Keith Branagan came to the rescue when Ronnie Rosenthal got the better of Mark Winstanley. Then Winstanley atoned for that clumsiness and his own goal in the dramatic second half of the Burnden game with three magnificent saving tackles, first on Rosenthal then twice on Mark Walters.
Mark Seagraves got away with a dangerous back-header when Rosenthal shot wide and David Burke survived strong appeals for a penalty when he bundled Walters off the ball.
All the time Lee was causing mayhem at the other end, bamboozling the Liverpool defence with a remarkable display. One run took him from inside his own half, past three defenders and into the penalty area, where his final shot was deflected off target by Jamie Redknapp's last ditch tackle.
In fact, had his finishing been better, he might have had a hat-trick. But wasn't that the story of the game?
Strangely, the 1-0 half-time lead at Anfield didn't seem as precarious as the 2-0 lead at Burnden. Such was Wanderers control of the proceedings. The back four magnificent, midfield over-running the Liverpool quartet and the strikers always menacing.
The confidence was not misplaced. Wanderers never looked like surrendering what they had worked so hard to achieve.
Branagan had to save well from Redknapp and the switch of full-backs (Rob Jones giving Marsh a break from the awesome tack of marking Lee) kept things quiet for a while. But it said everything about Wanderers dominance when the bewildered Kop began to plead: Attack! Attack!
There were even signs that Wanderers, who knocked the ball around confidently throughout, were actually taking the Mickey with some sweet, sweeping, even arrogant passing play!
When John Barnes, almost as anonymous as in the first game, headed Marsh's corner into the side netting, it was a reminder of the vulnerability of a one goal lead. But the doubts lasted only until McGinlay skipped past Stig Bjornebye and supplied another early cross for Walker to head his 18th goal of the season. The contest was over and suddenly the penny dropped that Wanderers have a fourth round date at Molineux on January 24.
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