Liverpool made heavy work of beating Championship outfit Bournemouth, with goals from Victor Moses and Daniel Sturridge securing the Reds' passage into round five of the FA Cup.
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Eddie Howe's side started much the brighter, but were unable to create any clear opportunities in the opening 10 minutes, with Andrew Surman's early header the closest they came to troubling keeper Brad Jones.
The Reds' indifferent opening allowed Bournemouth to enjoy the greater attacking opportunities, but it was a Simon Francis looping set piece that caused Jones most problems in goal and he had to backtrack to tip the ball over the crossbar.
However, it was the Premier League club that took the lead against the run of play when Victor Moses's low shot was too good for Lee Camp at his near post.
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Undeterred, the Cherries continued to test the Liverpool defence and their best chances of the opening period came in quick succession.
The first fell to Andrew Surman when a ball cut back reached him in the heart of the opposition box, but his shot was blocked by a scrambling defence.
Surman's subsequent corner found the head of the advancing Tommy Elphick and his diving effort was only inches over Jones's goal.
As the half-time interval approached, Liverpool started to attack with greater freedom and both Jordan Henderson and Luis Suarez had chances to add to their side's lead, but they could not convert their opportunities.
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Bournemouth will feel aggrieved that they didn't earn a penalty early in the second half when Martin Kelly was allowed to get away with a blatant pull of Francis's shirt, but the referee Lee Probert was unmoved.
On the hour mark, Liverpool put themselves into total command of the tie, even if their performance failed to reflect this, when Suarez delivered a pass into the path of Daniel Sturridge and the forward's side-footed effort found the bottom corner of Camp's net.
Ten minutes later, Sturridge almost added a third when Henderson's cross-field ball reached the striker and his audacious lob beat the retreating Camp, but not the woodwork.
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Suarez, looking to get in on the act, found himself in space with only the onrushing Camp to beat, but his lofted effort drifted harmlessly over.
In the end, Liverpool held onto their advantage, thus avoiding a repeat of their embarrassing exit to League One Oldham Athletic at the same stage last year. Their attentions will now turn to a Merseyside derby with local rivals Everton on Tuesday evening.
Chris O'Keefe
