Simon: Nature of win will lift confidence
Simon Mignolet believes the manner in which Liverpool emerged victorious from their battle with Bolton Wanderers on Wednesday night can hand the side an extra boost for their forthcoming fixtures.
The Reds were staring at the possibility of an FA Cup exit at the Macron Stadium after Eidur Gudjohnsen converted a penalty prior to the hour mark and Neil Lennon's side set about shutting down any form of Reds recovery.
Bolton's resolve at 1-0 was tested when Neil Danns was dismissed for a second bookable offence, and after constant Liverpool pressure, the home side's staunch defences were finally breached.
Emre Can's vision and Raheem Sterling's pace allowed the Reds to level with four minutes remaining, before Philippe Coutinho summoned something special to curl home in injury time and clinch a dramatic 2-1 victory.
"When you win in the last five minutes of the game, it does your confidence the world of good," Mignolet told Liverpoolfc.com in the tunnel following the fourth round triumph.
"Maybe later on we can look at those last five minutes and think that they were very, very important. Everybody's pleased we're still in it because that's the main thing. We want to progress in the cup and go on to get silverware this season."
Both teams had opportunities to break the deadlock in the first half, before Gudjohnsen kept his calm to fire beyond Mignolet and hand Bolton an advantage in the tie.
Despite coming up against a wall of white shirts, a brace of late goals pieced apart the Wanderers back-line to prompt scenes of celebration from the Liverpool contingent as the final whistle sounded.
"We responded well and showed great character to get through and get two goals before the end of the 90 minutes," continued Mignolet. "We're into the next round and now we can think about the league game [against Everton].
"It was a big bonus to get through in the 90 minutes because those extra 30 minutes would have been a pity. But we got through and that's the main thing and we can look forward to the next round against Crystal Palace."