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| Dirk Kuyt headed home a later winner as Liverpool booked their place in the last 16 of the Europa League with a 1-0 win over Sparta Prague on Thursday night.
The Dutchman was left unmarked to guide in Raul Meireles's 85th minute corner after it had looked like the side from the Czech Republic would force extra-time.
It means the Reds have continued their impressive unbeaten run under boss Kenny Dalglish, who celebrates his first European triumph as manager.
Ahead of the clash Dalglish opted to make four changes to the side that drew in Prague, with Joe Cole returning to start his first match under the Scot.
There was no doubt that it was a big opportunity for the England midfielder to finally show the Kop the full repertoire of his attacking talents and he was heavily involved in the early exchanges.
Indeed, the Reds appeared eager to set the tone right from kick off and they were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty inside 60 seconds.
Meireles sent a right-wing free-kick into the box that clearly hit Manuel Pamic on the arm but referee Milorad Mazic waved away the home side's appeals.
Next, Cole broke down the left and over-hit a cross that caused Jaromir Blazek all sorts of problems, but fortunately for the Sparta 'keeper the ball just evaded the crossbar.
The visitors seemed determined to be more adventurous on their travels and they hit back when Vaclav Kadlec saw a 30 yard volley dip just over the crossbar.
The left winger looked to have his heart set on a goal at the Kop end and just minutes later he forced a smart save out of Pepe Reina with a well placed header.
It was already shaping up to be a more entertaining encounter than the entire first-leg and Sotirios Kyrgiakos came within a whisker of breaking the deadlock on 16 minutes when his powerhouse header was brilliantly kept out by Blazek.
The Czech outfit were struggling to deal with the set piece delivery of Meireles and the returning Daniel Agger flicked a corner towards goal that Blazek was forced to pluck from under the nose of Cole.
The No.10 was looking sharp but was perhaps trying a bit too hard as he misdirected what appeared to be a simple header well wide of target after Martin Kelly had found him with a pinpoint cross.
At the other end Sparta continued to threaten and Danny Wilson had to come to the aid of Reina by bravely nodding a corner clear of the advancing Libor Sionko after the Spaniard had completely misjudged the flight of the ball.
The Reds would have been frustrated not to have made their early pressure tell but midway through the first period they carved out a chance that should have seen them take the lead.
Another centre from the right by Kelly fell invitingly for the onrushing Meireles who somehow managed to crash his side foot volley over the top from eight yards out. The Portuguese ace has been in red-hot form of late but even his clinical touch appeared to have deserted him in the final third.
Despite this, there was a clear sense in the air that a Liverpool goal was in the offing and when Kuyt squared for Ngog on 37 minutes it seemed inevitable the net would bulge.
The Frenchman struck his shot hard and true but Blazek did just enough to juggle the ball to safety after he had parried the initial effort into the path of Cole.
Dalglish's men may well have felt hard done by to have gone in at the break all-square but it could have been worse had Marek Matejovsky not miscued his strike after a superb exchange of passes with Ondrej Kusnir.
The message would surely have been same again from the boss but they were dealt a blow at the interval when the impressive Kelly was replaced by Jamie Carragher, whose appearance saw him become the record British appearance holder in European competition.
The change did little to alter Liverpool's approach, however, and Ngog twice went close to grabbing the opener within five minutes of the restart.
The away side were swaying a bit but it wasn't long before they had recovered their composure and Matejovsky should have done better when he crashed a free-kick in a dangerous position straight into the hosts' wall on 55 minutes.
Liverpool continued to probe for the all-important opener but found the Sparta defence in stubborn mood as efforts from Cole and Kuyt were both brilliantly deflected to safety.
It had been a relatively quiet second half for Ngog but as extra-time loomed he was presented with the best chance of the match on 74 minutes.
Meireles picked the ball up on the right flank and slipped a delightful pass into the No.24's path. The forward managed to hold off his marker but could not beat Blazek with his shot from a tight angle.
It looked like it wasn't going to be Liverpool's day until they finally got the reward their efforts deserved when Kuyt guided Meireles's corner beyond Blaznek with five minutes to spare.
Liverpoolfc.tv man of the match: Dirk Kuyt
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