BIG-time football returned to the Macron Stadium last night and the Whites faithful who ventured out into the cold rather than tune in on TV loved it – aside from the 2-1 scoreline.

Returning hero Eidur Gudjohnsen sent the home fans into dreamland with a 58th-minute penalty and while it wasn’t enough to win it for them, they showed under Neil Lennon they are back some way to being a force to be reckoned with.

Not since the Premier League days under Big Sam has the buzz around Bolton been so fervent – these days illustrious visitors of Liverpool’s stature are few and far between.

The size of the occasion was evident from the queues coming off the M61 at junction 6 to those dreaded half-and-half scarves on sale outside.

With a packed away following, the atmosphere was always set to be crackling, particularly with the Whites fans sensing another fourth-round shock to rival Bradford’s win at Chelsea and Middlesbrough’s triumph over Manchester City.

A date at the Palace beckoned for the victors – Crystal not Buckingham, of course – and everything was in place for a right royal rumble in front of Gary Lineker and the watching millions on BBC1.

The weather may not have been White Hot but the feeling was as excitable as that night in ‘93.

The noise level built up slowly, though – maybe everyone was stunned into silence with the shock sight of centre-back Matt Mills leading the frontline.

Liverpool were certainly taking things seriously as the inclusion of ‘Sir’ Steven Gerrard for his 700th club appearance illustrated – the Anfield legend making one last visit to Winter Hill in his farewell tour before heading to the sunnier climes of Hollywood’s peaks and LA Galaxy.

But while the visitors posed a big threat going forward, the solidity of Dorian Dervite David ‘Bobby Moore’ Wheater kept them at bay.

And the youthful exuberance of Zach Clough and Josh Vela got the home crowds hands warm with regular applause and when Mills got rare sights at goal it sparked chants of ‘Wanderers, Wanderers’.

It was goalless first half but as the fans headed for their pies and a packed press box to its regular game of ‘guess the soup’, there was plenty for Whites followers to be positive about.

The second half had barely warmed up when new hero Clough won the penalty and Gudjohnsen lived up to his Iceman reputation to coolly beat Simon Mignolet.

A red card for Neil Danns could have dampened the mood but it just rallied the troops on the terraces and they cheered every block, every tackle and when the woodwork saved them for the second and third time in the game thoughts of ‘name on the cup’ were abound.

Raheem Sterling and Philippe Coutinho, however, had other ideas but the home faithful left rightly proud of their team