There is nothing like the cut and thrust of knockout football to set the pulse racing and our meeting with Liverpool this evening, in the fourth round of the Littlewoods Cup, is guaranteed to be a stirring passionate affair. So it proved to be.
West Ham went into the match having failed to beat Liverpool in any of the 13 previous meetings spread over a six-year period. As so often happens, cup football threw up a shock result forecast. As had been demonstrated so many times before, a cup-tie under the Boleyn Ground floodlights brought out the best in West Ham. 
Sharp in their passing, the Hammers launched wave after wave of attacks at the Liverpool defence. Victory was secured on the strength of the West Ham midfield, where the youngster Paul Ince was not outshone by the two veterans of the trio - Liam Brady and Alan Devonshire. All enjoyed one of those nights when everything they did went right, all would enjoy a prosperous night of endeavour, each in his own way, as Liverpool were dazzled and the home fans were delighted.
In the 21st minute, Brady curled over a cross which Ince met with a spectacular athletic volley that flew into the goal that stunned the visitors, his second goal four minutes later left them dumbfounded as he dashed into meet Devonshire's corner kick with a powerful header which flew past the helpless Mike Hooper. The football being played by the Hammers was in extraordinary contrast to the scrambling stuff which had dumped them in the relegation zone.
The home fans' joy was curtailed in the 35th minute when Alvin Martin was adjudged to have fouled John Aldridge as they both went up to meet Steve Nicol's header into the penalty area. The referee seemed to be in a minority of one in awarding the spot-kick but Aldridge despatched the kick easily past Allen McKnight. Suddenly, the side from Anfield, despite the ineffectiveness of Steve McMahon and Ronnie Whelan in their midfield, were back in the game.
The outcome hung on a knife-edge until the 58th minute and once again it was a Liverpool player who decisively intervened, but this time when there seemed little danger. A speculative yet aimless centre from David Kelly dropped into the visitors' penalty area, only for the unchallenged Steve Staunton to stoop in order to guide the ball with great deliberation back to his goalkeeper. Unfortunately for him, and as if gauged meticulously, Staunton misdirected his header against the inside of a post and into the net. For perhaps the first time Liverpool heads appeared to drop and they looked a beaten side.
With 14 minutes to go the Hammers' victory was complete, Julian Dicks was fouled 25 yards out by Nigel Spackman. Tony Gale strolled up to curl the resulting free-kick over the Liverpool wall and beyond the grasping fingers of Hooper to complete the Merseyside disaster. It was a suitably classy finish to a classic Boleyn Ground evening and one to store in the archives. On another night it might have been even more, as Leroy Rosenior squandered enough chances to complete a personal hat-trick.
For Ince especially, it was a night to remember as the 21-year-old's performance suggested that he would one day become a very fine player. His colleague Brady certainly thought so: "This lad will surely play for England by the end of this season," gushed the Irishman. Not this season, as it turned out, but certainly it was not before too long.
Within minutes of the final whistle, the scoreline no doubt was raising eyebrows all round the world as the news of Liverpool's worst domestic cup defeat since 1939 - as well as the heaviest defeat - on grass - of Dalglish's managerial career - filtered out.
For Lyall it had been a masterful tactical triumph and he summed up his thoughts with: "Obviously a magnificent performance and as good as any cup-tie we have had for many, many years. I don't think it is too often that Liverpool lose in a cup-tie and when you have got four against them of course it is a marvellous performance for us."

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LIVERPOOL:

Hooper, Ablett, Venison, Nicol (Watson), Whelan, Spackman, Beardsley, Aldridge, Staunton, Houghton, McMahon (Durnin)