It was another mix-and-match starting line-up, but regardless of its youth and inexperience, it was easily the best Liverpool have performed against West Ham United so far this season.
Jürgen Klopp once again entrusted his youngsters, many of the same who had helped them into the fourth round with a commanding 3-0 home win over Exeter City, and also handed a number of senior figures the chance to prove their worth.
On the face of it, the hosts' weakened side up against Slaven Bilić's near full-strength team pointed to one outcome. This, after all, was a team that had already beaten them 3-0 at Anfield and 2-0 at Upton Park just four weeks' earlier.
The following 90 minutes produced quite the opposite, however, as the Reds' energy and enthusiasm saw them enjoy the better of the the game, a game which they should have won to reach the FA Cup fifth round.
The side, somewhat, sparked some surprise. Klopp had spoken of making changes, more particularly saying they would field "a different team" and "make a few changes" to win the game, but quite just how weak he went, with very little off the bench, was a shock.
Nevertheless, the Reds' young charges more than held their own - and only came away without a win because of their own poor finishing. Individual performances across the park inspiring.
Cameron Brannagan and Kevin Stewart were both excellent, playing alongside Joe Allen - whose recent revival saw him awarded the captaincy for the day.
Though the Welshman's ambitious attempt at an overhead kick at the Kop end in the second-half raised some brief eyebrows, it was the latter two who were the most eye-catching of the Reds' performers.
Young midfielders two of the stand-out performers
Coming up against a steely midfield, 5ft 11ins Brannagan seemed second-best in every department on paper, but his intelligent, classy play in possession as well as his ability to hunt down the ball and tidy things up made it seem as if the Under-21s captain is already well accustomed to this level of first-team football.
Just as impressive was his set-piece delivery, which Christian Benteke and a couple of others were guilty of not making more from, with his crosses in open play and from dead ball situations asking questions of the Hammers' defence.
In fact it was Brannagan who came closest to splitting the two sides as his well-struck 30-yard drive stung the fingertips of Darren Randolph, who was at his best to deny the hosts time and time again.
The standing ovation from the home supporters upon his withdrawal late on said it all, but there will have been just as much pleasure with the display served up by Stewart, who was praised by his manager after the game.
Having only made a handful of appearances on loan at Swindon Town earlier this season, the holding midfielder is the most intriguing player of the bunch. A 22-year-old released by Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2014, the Reds took a gamble on signing him, and on this evidence - they might have made the right decision.
Tidy in possession, constantly starting moves with his forward passes, using his body well to shield the ball at times when he was under pressure and showing no fear at throwing himself into challenges, Stewart's solid but unspectacular style-of-play was refreshing. It was something Liverpool certainly haven't seen for quite a while.
Of course, there were a few misplaced passes and a few wayward shots - but that should not detract from what was a smart composed performance. If Stewart can continue in this vein of form and take the chances given to him, there's every chance he might just become an unlikely success story to rival fellow anchorman Lucas Leiva.
And Stewart and Brannagan were not the only positives. Allen, who had assisted Jordon Ibe's winner in the Capital One Cup semi-final first-leg win at Stoke City before scoring a dramatic late equaliser in the 3-3 draw at Arsenal and contributing another goal in the 3-0 win over Exeter in the previous round of this competition, was once again very encouraging.
On-loan defender Steven Caulker grabbed his first chance by the scruff of the neck, doing the simple stuff well and adding some much-needed height and strength to the back-four - something they severely lacked when bullied by the likes of Andy Carroll in the previous meeting between the two sides just a few weeks earlier.
Several senior figures disappoint once more
There were others, however, that disappointed. Ibe - having frustrated in recent games - was guilty of cutting inside and always looking to shoot rather than finding open teammates, although he did come close to an assist a number of times - finding Brannagan before his long-range effort and likewise Joao Carlos Teixeira for his two well-saved shot in the box. He even set Benteke, another disappointing performer, away, before the striker was twice denied in quick succession by Randolph.
Benteke was probably the most disenchanting. Having looked more and more ill-suited to this Liverpool team with each passing game, he was absent throughout this affair. On a completely different wavelength yet again, the Belgian's effort (or lack of) to get to the service his younger teammates were trying to provide him with was exasperating, almost as much as the tame effort he put straight at Randolph when the ball bounced kindly for him having had a shot saved by him just seconds earlier.
There is a player in there, that's obvious. He showed it at Aston Villa and has demonstrated it in brief spells at Anfield, most notably his stunning strike at Old Trafford in September, but he's increasingly retreating further and further into his shell.
Having gone through droughts in a Villa team built to get the best out of him, it's a worrying thought that a Benteke shy on confidence in a team that looks perplexed when he's up top might never kick into gear. Even back-to-back winning goals against Leicester City and Sunderland at the end of the previous year couldn't kickstart the under-fire Belgian.
However, focusing on the negatives of the senior players would be detrimental. Having ground out a gritty draw on a windy day against a strong West Ham team sat two points above the Reds in the Premier League table, the Academy players can come away full of confidence and belief. They delivered in difficult conditions.
Klopp took another gamble and it paid off. Although he showed his frustrations with having to face yet another fixture after the full-time whistle, there will be a small part of him looking forward to seeing the same youngsters that had him clapping and nodding in appreciation at times on the sidelines on Saturday evening.
Reds missed an opportunity despite promising performance
But even with all that said, this was an opportunity missed. West Ham surely won't be as bad as this in the replay. Upton Park will be rocking in the knowledge that it could be the last ever FA Cup match played there, with the Hammers moving across London to the Olympic Stadium this summer, and they'll be keen to see out their final year at the Boleyn with a bang.
Klopp will also be frustrated with the fact that even the Reds' younger players are struggling to find the back of the net, with the German's first-team having been quite literally, hit-and-miss, in their recent games - but it is something he is fully aware of, having shown a willingness to try and dip into the transfer market to fix those problems.
Furthermore, it will require a mighty effort from this crop of youngsters if they are to go to East London having sealed a place in the fifth-round of the competition, but they'll be sure to relish the opportunity to prove themselves to Klopp once more. And if they can replicate this calibre of performance in the capital, then who knows? They might just want to work on their finishing in training a bit first.
