Liverpool came from behind to break Hammers hearts in the FA Cup final back in May. And 15 weeks on from the Millennium Stadium, Alan Pardew's unlucky side again succumbed to the Reds after getting their noses in front.

On-fire Bobby Zamora's fourth goal in eight days gave the visitors a 12th minute lead before Daniel Agger and Peter Crouch secured a hard-fought victory for Rafael Benitez's team with two strikes in three tumultuous minutes just before the break.

Looking for their first win at Anfield since mid-September back in '63, West Ham had made just one change from the side that drew 1-1 at Watford on Tuesday night, as midfielder Yossi Benayoun returned in place of central defender James Collins in a more orthodox 4-4-2 formation.

Following their gruelling midweek trip to Kiev for their 1-1 Champions League qualifying draw against ex-Hammer Yaniv Katan's Maccabi Haifa, Liverpool made a trio of changes.

Skipper Steven Gerrard - Hammers's nemesis in May's rollercoaster final - plus Craig Bellamy and Fabio Aurelio were each recalled, while Mark Gonzalez and injured duo Mohamed Sissoko and Stephen Warnock stood down.

And having tried his luck from range so successfully at the Millennium Stadium back in May, Gerrard wasted no time in testing the water with a low 20-yarder that skimmed past the base of Roy Carroll's left-hand upright.

The Merseysiders were celebrating next week's 100th anniversary of their famous Kop and it looked like they would soon be rejoicing a goal, too, as Peter Crouch and Luis Garcia both went wide before the perfectly placed Paul Konchesky nodded Auerelio's curling, 20-yard free-kick off the line.

That quartet of chances had all come inside the opening 10 minutes but, just as the volume was beginning to rise, Bobby Zamora stunned the 43,965 crowd when his attempted cross from the touchline was palmed in at the near post by red-faced 'keeper Jose Reina, following a sweeping move that saw Lee Bowyer, Benayoun and then Nigel Reo-Coker combine to find the in-form forward way out wide on the right.

As the Hammers' fans revelled in the delight of that opener, Marlon Harewood should have doubled the lead just moments later when Benayoun's deft, defence-splitting pass sent him clear, but the striker directed his low, 15-yarder wide of the exposed Reina and the right-hand post.

In reply, Aurelio, Garcia, Bellamy, Crouch and Xabi Alonso each peppered Carroll's goal but both 'keeper and his well-marshalled defence looked to be standing firm in the wake of the Red tide.

But with just three minutes remaining, West Ham's first-half simply capsized. On 42 minutes Daniel Agger was allowed to collect Xabi Alonso's square pass and advance unchecked to within shooting distance, whereupon he let fly with a 30-yarder that flew under Carroll's right-hand angle.

And with the visitors still coming to terms with the loss of their advantage, Gerrard then played in Garcia, who intricately nudged the ball between Konchesky and Gabbidon into Crouch's path, and the England striker secured an interval lead when he rounded the grounded Hammers' goalkeeper before drilling an unstoppable eight-yarder between the desperate lunges of Anton Ferdinand and John Pantsil on the goal-line.

Having broken Hammers' hearts, Crouch found himself replaced by Dirk Kuyt just seven minutes into the second period and the blond, former Feyenoord striker wasted no time trying to repay a slice of his £10million fee with a quick-fire double-Dutch effort that saw him go close with a long-ranger and then a looping header.

Despite their dramatic change in fortunes, West Ham were still producing flashes of danger on the counter-attack as Benayoun climaxed a mazy run with an 18-yarder that curled inches wide, while Harewood's cross into the six-yard box only needed a touch from the stretching Bowyer and John Pantsil sent an acrobatic bicycle kick high into the Kop.

And after the breaking Bellamy saw a marginal offside flag wipe out the goal that would simply have put too much daylight between the two sides, Alan Pardew pitched Carlton Cole, Tyrone Mears and Teddy Sheringham into the fray for the closing stages.

With those three pairs of fresh legs, workmanlike West Ham were far from out of it. Indeed, Bowyer prodded Pantsil's low cross into the six-yard box just an inch or two wide, while Cole saw his late shot charged down by Reina in a frantic scramble.

But in the end, Hammers were left paying the price for those three minutes of mayhem just before the break and, 43 years on, they will return to Upton Park still looking for that elusive Anfield victory.