Florent Sinama Pongolle grabbed the headlines with the winning penalty against Spurs to book Liverpool’s place in the last four of the competition. But earlier in the game, with the tie locked at 0-0, debutant Raven came to his side’s rescue with a superbly timed challenge to dispossess Jermain Defoe when the England striker was through on goal.

Raven's performance at White Hart Lane was described by some seasoned Liverpool observers asthe most impressive debut by an Anfield right back since Rob Jones burst onto the scene in the early 1990s.

The England Under-20 star was in line to make his second appearance for the Merseyside giants in last Friday’s FA Cup tie at Burnley, only for the game to be called off due to the weather conditions.

Raven and his team-mates were disappointed when the late postponement was announced. "We were already in the dressing room and prepared for the match," he told the Liverpool Echo.

"Maybe there are mixed feelings for a lot of us because if we had played and been tired afterwards, there's a chance we wouldn't be considered for the Watford game. But there's no guarantee we'll be playing just because the Burnley match was postponed."

Raven is well aware of the possibility that manager Rafael Benitez could resist the temptation to field several youngsters in the game at Anfield.

"He could be thinking the home leg is a good chance for us to secure the tie and so he may play all the senior players," said the 19-year-old.

"We have to respect whatever decision he makes, but obviously we all want to play in such a big game, especially at Anfield.

"In the back of our minds we are all thinking about the possibility of going to Cardiff, but we're all realistic about it, too. If we were to get through to the final, we'll be playing either Chelsea or Manchester United, and it would be very surprising if the manager didn't use the first team in that situation.

"We just hope the better we play when we get our chance, the more opportunities we'll get. The manager has shown throughout the season he's prepared to use the young players. Stephen Warnock and Neil Mellor have shown that."

Whatever happens tonight, it may not be long before Raven’s name features regularly on the team sheet at Anfield.