Liverpool defender Glen Johnson says the team were not at their best against Blackburn, and struggled to deal with the state of the pitch in the 0-0 draw against the Championship side.
Liverpool were forced to a replay after a disappointing performance at Anfield, however Johnson is still confident his side can make it through to a Wembley semi final.
“We just didn’t play to our best today,” Johnson told the Liverpool Echo.
“That happens sometimes. Blackburn played well and made it tough.
“We can’t make excuses but the pitch didn’t help us. I know it’s the same for both sides but it slowed us down.
“Without doubt, it’s the worst it’s been during my time at Liverpool.
“You have to watch your touch more because it bobbles so much. And it’s harder for the likes of Philippe (Coutinho) and Raheem (Sterling) to dribble with the ball.
“It slows everything down because the bounce is so irregular. It’s different every time.
“It takes a bit more concentration and it’s harder to play one touch football which is what you need to open these teams up around the box.”
The Reds struggled to make many decent clear cut chances against the Championship side, but did have several penalty appeals – all of which were waved away by referee Andre Marriner.
“It looked like we had a couple of decent penalty shouts but I’ve not seen the replays yet so it’s difficult for me to comment,” Johnson said.
“I know there was a handball from Daniel Sturridge’s header which the referee said he had seen. But he gave the first offence which was the offside.
“It’s frustrating. Everyone wanted to win the game but the most important thing is that we’re in the hat for the semi-finals.
“That’s football – you aren’t going to play to the best of your ability in every game. Whether you play well or not, the most important thing is that you don’t go out of the Cup.
“Hopefully we’ll play better in the replay and get the win we want. You’ve got to give Blackburn a lot of credit because they worked hard. They got men behind the ball and defended well.
“But we’re still confident we can go through. Hopefully we can pick up our performance and go through in the replay.
“The fixture list isn’t too crowded for us now so having a replay isn’t a big problem. We’ve got plenty of time on the training ground in between matches to work on things now.”
