Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is eager to see Steven Gerrard, Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll play together on a regular basis after they all featured in the FA Cup thrashing of Brighton.

Despite Suarez and Carroll arriving at Anfield in January last year, the trio started together for the first time in the 6-1 fifth round home win on Sunday.

Both Gerrard and Carroll have struggled with injuries, while Suarez only recently returned from an eight-match ban for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra.

They had been restricted to just 69 minutes together on the pitch before the Cup tie, but they showed just how prolific they can be by helping the Reds to their biggest win since Dalglish returned to the club 13 months ago.

“We’ve got more than three players and the fact that we’ve done as well as we have and that’s the first time they’ve [all] started a match tells you how well the rest of the boys have done as well,” Dalglish said. “We’ll stand and be counted as a squad.”

Dalglish will take his side to Wembley next weekend to play another second-tier club in Cardiff in the League Cup final.

Carroll’s goal against Brighton was just his eighth since his 35 million pound ($55 million) move to Anfield from Newcastle 13 months ago.

But Dalglish maintains he has never been swayed by the criticism the striker has received since his expensive transfer.

“We’ve always been positive and we always will be and we’ll always be supportive of any player that comes to this football club,” he said.

Liverpool opened the scoring after just four minutes when Martin Skrtel headed in Gerrard’s corner.

Kazenga LuaLua pulled Brighton level before Liam Bridcutt’s own goal gave the Reds a halftime advantage.

Carroll added a third before further own goals from Bridcutt and Lewis Dunk and a Suarez header, after he had missed a penalty, completed the scoring.

It was Brighton’s first defeat of 2012 and manager Gus Poyet said he hoped it would be a valuable lesson for his players.

“People are talking about promotion and things and I said I want to be ready and we are not,” Poyet said. “People think I’m being negative but maybe now they will say I was right.”

English Premier League title contender Tottenham was held to a 0-0 draw by third-tier side Stevenage on Sunday, while Stoke advanced to the quarterfinals with few problems.

Spurs had a goal by Louis Saha ruled out because of offside but were largely frustrated by an organized Stevenage team. The winner of the replay will play Bolton in the next round.

Stoke — last season’s runner-up — overcame an early red card to Rory Delap to beat fourth-tier side Crawley 2-0 through a penalty by Jonathan Walters and a header from Peter Crouch.

Stoke, which lost 1-0 to Manchester City in last season’s final, will meet Liverpool next.

Everton will play Sunderland, while the other quarterfinal will be between Leicester and the winner of a replay between Chelsea and second-tier Birmingham.