Gerrard hat-trick lifts Liverpool

LONDON, England -- Steven Gerrard fired a hat-trick as Liverpool thrashed crisis club Luton 5-0 at Anfield to book their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Gerrard was on target after 52, 64 and 72 minutes as the Reds cruised through the replay to set up a home tie against either Swansea or non-league Havant and Waterlooville.

Victory came as a timely boost for manager Rafa Benitez who heard this week that his job had been offered to Juergen Klinsmann.

Klinsmann has since agreed to join Bayern Munich -- and Benitez is happy to let his players do the talking.

Robbie Keane scored the only goal at the Madejski Stadium after 15 minutes to put Tottenham into the next round at the expense of Reading.

The Republic of Ireland striker is now one away from a century of goals for Spurs, after his 15th strike of the season set up a mouth-watering tie against Manchester United at Old Trafford a week on Sunday.

Keane stabbed home from a close-range rebound after Younes Kaboul met Jermaine Jenas' corner.

Reading almost forced extra-time when Stephen Hunt came off the bench and smacked a volley against the crossbar.

Liverpool broke the deadlock at Anfield in first-half stoppage time when Ryan Babel rifled a shot beyond Hatters goalkeeper Dean Brill and into the corner after being released by Fernando Torres.

Gerrard made it 2-0 in the 52nd minute when he headed in from close range after Peter Crouch flicked on a cross from Jermaine Pennant.

Rafael Benitez's side extended their lead five minutes later after Gerrard swung in a corner which was met by Hyypia -- and England midfielder Gerrard made it 4-0 in the 64th minute.He grabbed his hat-trick eight minutes later with a 25-yard strike.

Bury caretaker manager Chris Brass got his reign off to a winning start with a surprise 2-1 win over Coca-Cola Championship side Norwich at Gigg Lane to set up a trip to Southampton.

Bury broke the deadlock in the 18th minute after a mix-up in the Norwich defence left Ben Futcher with a simple finish. Bury doubled their advantage in the 61st minute through Andy Bishop with a clever finish.

Dion Dublin pulled a goal back for Norwich four minutes from time when he put in the rebound from Lee Croft's shot but Bury held on.

West Brom defeated Charlton 4-3 on penalties at The Hawthorns with the scores level at 2-2 after extra-time.

Albion striker Roman Bednar continued his prolific form to open the scoring in the 14th minute and James Morrison added West Brom's second in the 51st minute with a 20-yard drive.

Charlton pulled one back in the 64th minute when Dean Kiely failed to hold a shot from Darren Ambrose. The visitors then equalised in added time thanks to a goal from Chris Dickson.

Luke Varney and Zheng Zhi both missed in the shoot-out and Bednar scored the decisive penalty to give Albion side a trip to Peterborough in the fourth round.

Millwall claimed a 2-1 win over Walsall at the New Den to secure a trip to Coventry in the fourth round.

Striker Ben May broke the deadlock in the 15th minute with a 20-yard strike past goalkeeper Clayton Ince.

May had a hand in Millwall's second in the 49th minute when his pass set up Gary Alexander, who produced a superb finish from the left side of the box.

Walsall pulled a goal back in the 61st minute with a low 20-yard strike from striker Alex Nicholls which took a deflection off a Millwall defender. E-mail to a friend