Gerrard at the double, Burnley force replay

Steven Gerrard illustrated his importance to Liverpool with two goals as his side avoided FA Cup third-round embarrassment by winning 2-1 at fourth-tier AFC Wimbledon on Monday.

Playing in his first game since announcing that he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season, Gerrard put the visitors ahead with a 12th-minute header at the 4,850-capacity Kingsmeadow stadium in south-west London.

Wimbledon’s man-mountain centre-forward Adebayo Akinfenwa, a Liverpool fan, stabbed home a 36th-minute equalizer, but Gerrard netted a fine free-kick in the second half to earn Brendan Rodgers’s side a home tie with Bolton Wanderers in round four.

Burnley rescued a 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup as injury-plagued striker Sam Vokes scored for the first-time since March in Monday’s third round tie at Turf Moor.

Vokes came off the bench for only his second appearance of the season following his long battle to recover from a ruptured cruciate knee ligament and the Wales forward marked the occasion with a second half equalizer to earn a replay at White Hart Lane.

NacerChadli had given Tottenham the lead early in the second half, but neither team could secure a home tie against Leicester City in the fourth round.

M.D