BY MATT DICKINSON ( The Times )

ALEX FERGUSON'S tension can normally be measured by the fury of his gum-chewing and, for 88 minutes yesterday, he looked to be in danger of gnawing off his tongue. Time was ebbing away and his Manchester United team could not match the vigour of a wonderfully - and unusually - vociferous Old Trafford crowd.

The plain facts of what happened in those final minutes are that Dwight Yorke and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored the goals that knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup. How and why, though, were the cause of much head-scratching on Merseyside as the inquests began into a thrilling, if not epic, game.

Tiredness, bad defensive positioning and the referee were cited by Gérard Houllier as the principal reasons, while sheer determination by his own team was Ferguson's straightfoward verdict. Both managers were right, but it is United who march forward to the fifth round and their campaign remains alive on three fronts.

For Liverpool, the journey home meant the chance to reflect that they will once again be without silverware, but there was salvation to be found amid the wreckage yesterday. They may not win any honours, but they may yet finish the season with pride under Houllier's increasingly resolute leadership.

Laughed out of Wembley in their cream Armani suits the last time that they met United in this competition, yesterday they made their great rivals look like the ones all dressed up with nowhere to go, at least for much of the game.

It was impossible not to feel sympathy for the Liverpool players as they slumped to the ground at the final whistle. So roundly criticised for their indiscipline over recent seasons, they had stuck to orders with regimental regard. From Carragher, splendid at the back, to the efficient Redknapp in midfield and forward to Fowler, who repeatedly dropped back to make important tackles, they had, it seemed, replicated Houllier's game-plan to precision.

At least, they thought they had - and maybe that was the problem. Two late errors and the whole construction collapsed around them, but then that is always the danger when you are facing a side of United's attacking power. When a team can bring on substitutes of the match-changing potential of Scholes and Solskjaer, they can afford to leave things to injury time.

Solskjaer, whose winner came more than a minute into stoppage time (or "Ferguson time", as it is known by his rivals), has now scored more goals this season (11) than he has started games (9). "I'll have to give him more football," Ferguson said. He will need to if the Norwegian is to keep turning down offers, such as he has from Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United recently.

"The game lasted five minutes too long for us," Houllier said. "We had the chances to score a second goal and that could have made the difference."

Solskjaer scores United's dramatic late winner through a crowded goalmouth

Liverpool did not have to wait long for the first. The game was only three minutes old when Berger glided past Butt and fed the ball via Redknapp to Heggem. The wing back sped to the byline, from where he spotted Owen, unmarked, for a simple header.

"God almighty," Ferguson said later, so goodness knows what expletives he let fly about Berg's slackness at the time. "I wouldn't have thought a 5ft 6in striker would get a header at Old Trafford in the first five minutes."

Ferguson had to wait 20 minutes for his team to conjure much in response, a header by Keane hitting the post and then Ince on the goalline. It was a rare United cross that found its target, though, as Giggs and Beckham struggled to penetrate. Too many of their centres were chipped from deep, while Cole and Yorke lacked movement. Perhaps it was the early start.

The tensions were evident in the United bookings, which outnumbered Liverpool's by four to two. Never a vicious game, some of the tackles were still eye-watering, with Keane's lunge at Redknapp the worst of the bunch.

United's frustration was down to the number of misplaced passes and it was Liverpool who went closest to scoring, with Fowler shooting just over the bar and Berger forcing an excellent save from Schmeichel at close range.

Liverpool had defended deeply in the first half, but, after the interval, they allowed themselves to be pushed back to the point that they were treading on James's toes. Gradually, the number of United chances began to increase, with James rushing out of his box to thwart Cole, a shot by Keane deflecting wide and a strike from Cole looping off Carragher and just over the crossbar.

When Scholes replaced Butt after 68 minutes, United were exerting more influence and the loss of Ince through injury was debilitating to Liverpool. Keane hit the inside of the post and there were only two minutes left when Redknapp was adjudged to have fouled Johnsen, a decision that Houllier contested. "Maybe we showed a bit of inexperience by worrying about the decision instead of getting into position," he said. Beckham's chipped free kick was headed by Cole to Yorke for a simple side-foot finish. Solskjaer wrapped things up moments later.

Manchester United: (4-4-2): P Schmeichel - G Neville, J Stam, H Berg (sub: R Johnsen, 80min), D Irwin (sub: O G Solskjaer, 80) - D Beckham, R Keane, N Butt (sub: P Scholes, 68), R Giggs - A Cole, D Yorke.

Liverpool: (3-5-2): D James - J Carragher, D Matteo, S Harkness - V Heggem, J Redknapp, P Ince (sub: J McAteer, 71), P Berger, S I Bjornebye - R Fowler, M Owen.

Referee: G Poll.

Attendance: 54,591.