Kenny Dalglish praised the 'attitude, application and intent' of his Liverpool players after hitting back to beat Everton 2-1 in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Liverpool manager hails 'fantastic' display against Everton
Kenny Dalglish praised the 'attitude, application and intent' of his Liverpool players after hitting back to beat Everton 2-1 in the FA Cup semi-finals.
The Reds fell behind to a Nikica Jelavic goal in the first half before equalising through Luis Suarez just after the hour mark and then securing victory when Andy Carroll headed home in the 87th minute.
Dalglish did not try to hide his pride after the final whistle after the Reds produced precisely the type of battling performance he had demanded.
"I think the players that were out there - and the players that have made a contribution throughout the whole run in the FA Cup - have been fantastic for the football club," he said.
"Their attitude, application and intent in getting that positive result from today's game was there for everybody to see.
"Whether it's deserved or not, people are going to have their own opinion on it - but everything needed to win a football game, we showed today as a team."
Dalglish played down his own influence on proceedings by insisting that the players were already motivated to bounce back before hearing his half-time team talk.
Asked what he had said during the interval, Dalglish replied: "They really never needed much, we just pointed them in the right direction.
Lift
"They wanted to win the game. They'd got this far and wanted to go a step further.
"We started the game well, Everton scored and came into it, and then we picked up again just after half-time."
Liverpool are now on course for a domestic cup double after winning the Carling Cup in February, and Dalglish is looking forward to returning to Wembley next month to face either Tottenham or Chelsea.
He said: "As a group of players, and as a football club, I think it was fantastic. Although it's not been too good over the past few weeks in the league, that is now two cup finals (this season) - one we've won and the other one we're now looking forward to. That gives everybody who supports Liverpool Football Club a lift.
"We've got a great deal of respect for David Moyes and Everton Football Club, and coming from the same city as ourselves we're not sitting here gloating - but we're very proud and pleased it's us in the final."
