Luton Town forced a replay after drawing 1-1 with Liverpool at Kenilworth Road in the FA Cup third round.

Peter Crouch scored in front of England manager Fabio Capello after 73 minutes before a Jon Arne Riise own goal four minutes later gave the Hatters a well-deserved equaliser and a much-needed financial boost.

The League One side, currently in administration, had dominated play for much of the game when an unfortunate defensive mishap let substitute Andriy Voronin clean through on goal. The Ukraine striker's shot was saved by goalkeeper Dean Brill, but he could only palm it into the path of Crouch who slotted home the rebound.

The lead was short lived however as the impressive Drew Talbot sent in a cross that rebounded first off Riise's boot and then his hand before evading goalkeeper Charles Itandje and rolling into the net.

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez brought a squad without the injured Steven Gerrard or the in-form Fernando Torres to Kenilworth Road.

The match began in typical high tempo fashion, and Luton could have opened the scoring after just four minutes.

David Edwards beat the offside trap and found himself one-on-one with Itandje, replacing Jose Reina in goal, but the midfielder could only fire his shot straight at the French keeper.

Liverpool's Dirk Kuyt and Crouch both had reasonable chances, with Kuyt heading over from close range and Crouch seeing a half-volley saved and a first-time strike go wide within a minute of each other.

It was Talbot who really caught the eye as the forward used his skill and pace to cause Sami Hyypia and Jamie Carragher plenty of problems.

Right before half-time he beat Carragher and flashed a cross in front of goal but no Luton players could get a touch.

Yossi Benayoun missed a similar chance just after the break as the Israeli international marginally missed a low Kuyt cross.

Just minutes later goalkeeperBrill came to Luton's rescue when he managed to get a hand to Riise's powerful long range strike after it took a deflection.

That save helped Luton end the match with a draw and earn the replay which is arguably more beneficial for them than going straight through to the fourth round.

Tony Mabert / Eurosport