Yesterday Hull City joined Fulham and West Ham United as teams who have unexpectedly left Anfield clutching a point in the past month, but what distinguished Phil Brown's team is that they left Merseyside with their achievement tinged with disappointment. This a club who had never beaten Liverpool in a competitive match.
So instead of Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez enjoying a four-point lead at the top of the Premier League, that advantage is halved.
"Clearly this was the kind of game you have to win," said Benitez. "We have to be disappointed. Today the pace was a little bit frenetic and you have to control these games. The problem for me is that the players wanted to finish too quickly."
After 22 minutes, Hull were 2-0 up thanks to Paul McShane and an own goal from Jamie Carragher and it was only Steven Gerrard's unquenchable desire that earned a point. He scored twice but he could not drag his side that step further. It would have been an injustice if Hull, supremely led by Michael Turner, had gained nothing but more plaudits.
"I'm disappointed not to be leaving with three points," Brown said. "but, hey, I'm Hull City manager, I shouldn't be saying these things."
The home team had already survived a scare when a cross from Nick Barmby hit Javier Mascherano's arm in the area but if that was an escape there was none after 12 minutes. Geovanni's free-kick cleared the area, Marlon King crossed from the left and McShane headed into the top corner.
Liverpool, who had not conceded a League goal at Anfield for 400 minutes, reeled, but worse was to follow. Carragher was adjudged to have jumped into a tackle and while he was arguing the point Hull took a quick free-kick. King passed to Bernard Mendy who, not for the first time, skipped past the hapless Andrea Dossena. The cross was low, accurate and just in time to meet Carragher's desperate attempt to get back, the ball rebounding off the defender.
Hull's fans began singing of wonderlands but reality intruded within two minutes. Dirk Kuyt crossed from the right, Albert Riera collided with two Hull players and the ball went to the back of the area where the ever-dependable Gerrard was waiting. If Liverpool supporters could choose someone to be in that position it would be their captain and he beat Boaz Myhill's dive with some comfort.
Hull were furious that Riera's intervention had not been penalised and they had less reason to feel happy when Gerrard got his second after 32 minutes. The visiting defence evaporated as Carragher's cross was headed by Kuyt, Yossi Benayoun touched the ball on and Gerrardarrived at the back post.
Brown was disappointed, claiming both of Gerrard's goals should have been disallowed for fouls on Turner. "If you are ball watching you are a bad defender," he said. "If you are ball watching you are a bad referee."
After the lurches in fortune of the first half, the game took a breather at the start of the second and assumed the pattern that had been anticipated before the kick-off. Liverpool dominated possession, Hull tried to break and stand-off existed.
This threatened to change in the 59th minute when Gerrard's corner was met by Sami Hyypia's towering leap. The force was up rather than forward but he caught the ball with sufficient clout to beat Myhill only for the ball to bounce off the post.
Riera had a fierce shot beaten away by Myhill shortly afterwards and the Hull goalkeeper dived and stretched to turn away a shot from Nabil El Zhar in the 82nd minute but the longer the match went on and the more desperate Liverpool were for the winner the more dangerous Hull became.
The £21m Robbie Keane did not make it on to the pitch and cut a disgruntled figure on the substitutes' bench. "All of us are disappointed, not just Robbie," Benitez said. "We wanted to use the wingers because putting more players in the box is no guarantee you will make chances."
Liverpool should have won but the most telling indicator at the end was the body language of the visiting players. There were few signs of victory and most looked almost disconsolate.
"To say I'm disappointed is an understatement," Brown said. When a draw at Liverpool is not embraced, you know you are having a good season.