FeatureBill Shankly's final season: Reds harness momentum to put Leeds under pressure

An impressive February was to be followed up by a brilliant March for Shankly's men a half-century ago.

Read on for the latest instalment of our series to mark the 50th anniversary of the legendary Scot's conclusion to his iconic Anfield career…

Entering March, Liverpool were in fine form, having yet to taste defeat in the calendar year in both league and cup.

The Reds began the new month with the visit of Burnley to Anfield – the last team to defeat them, which came at Turf Moor on Boxing Day – and, as Liverpool had experienced so often throughout the season, there was last-minute drama.

Shankly's charges required yet another late goal, with three of their last four home fixtures seeing a winner in the closing stages.

This time it was John Toshack who crashed the ball home to break Clarets hearts on Merseyside and keep up the chase behind league leaders Leeds United, who would be the next visitors to L4.

Ahead of that contest, the Reds were handed a trip to Ashton Gate to face underdogs Bristol City in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

Liverpool eased past their hosts and should have added more to the scoreline than just Toshack's match-winning strike.

Perhaps, though, eyes were on the scalp of Don Revie's Leeds at Anfield a week later, with victory ensuring a title race was really on the cards.

Holding two games in hand over the Whites, Shankly's men were looking to pull themselves back to within six points of the visitors if they could claim the spoils.

More than 56,000 supporters were at Anfield for the top-of-the-table clash, with the gates closed for more than an hour ahead of kick-off such was the anticipation.

And the Reds did not disappoint as the charge to retain their First Division crown stepped up a gear.

Steadfast Leeds held firm, led by Norman Hunter in the heart of defence, until there were only seven minutes left on the clock, when Steve Heighway produced the decisive moment to hand Revie's side only a second league defeat of the season.

It was a campaign being built upon 1-0 victories for Shankly, with Liverpool claiming wins by that very score in all four of their previous fixtures.

Buoyed by the win over their title rivals, Liverpool headed to Molineux to face Wolverhampton Wanderers next, knowing they could really keep up the pressure on Leeds.

And they did just that. While the Whites faltered at home to Burnley, the Reds claimed – you guessed it – another 1-0 victory on the road. Brian Hall's 27th-minute effort cut the league lead for Leeds to just four points.

To round out the month, Liverpool made the trip to Old Trafford to take on Leicester City in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

English football's oldest competition was firmly in the sights of Shankly and co. But a 0-0 draw followed, sending the tie to a replay in the first week of April.

There was good news for the Reds, however, as Leeds continued to hand their chasers hope in the league on the same weekend, falling to a third consecutive loss since their Merseyside visit.

Games were in hand and a relentless April full of fixtures was to come.