| The Match Of A Lifetime Everton 4 Liverpool 4 FA Cup Fifth Round Replay Goodison Park Wednesday, 20th February 1991 |
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| Graeme Sharp celebrates scoring with Pat Nevin |
| Liverpool 'keeper Bruce Grobbelaar looks on in terror as Tony Cottee scores his second and Everton's fourth. |
| This FA Cup fifth-round replay between soccer's greatest rivals was to turn into a three match marathon that included a clash, described by all those lucky enough to see it, as the 'Game of a Lifetime!' Senior fans would still argue that the 1935 FA Cup replay against Sunderland, a 6-4 bonanza in the Blues' favour, was the greatest Goodison encounter of all time. But this modern Cup classic surely rivalled it for sensational goals and breathtaking action. And the fact that it was a 'derby' game of epic proportions added to the magic of the 1991 battle. It will also be remembered as Kenny Dalglish's Liverpool swansong. Within days, he had resigned his position as manager in the most sensational of circumstances, claiming he could not cope with the intense pressure of being in one of he hottest seats in the business. It meant that the Reds had to go into the second replay with a caretaker boss in the shape of that old Anfield veteran Ronnie Moran. Everton would win a nail-biting Goodison tie 1-0, but at times it was the soccer equivalent of Custer's Last Stand! When the teams first came out of the hat together, no one could possibly have envisaged the drama that lay ahead. The first game, played at Anfield, was controversial enough. Howard Kendall and Colin Harvey plotted an audacious coup that might have come off if referee Neil Midgley had not denied the Blues what appeared to be a clear penalty. Gary Ablett, ironically a man who would join Everton the next season, pole-axed Pat Nevin as the winger broke in the right of the box |
| Not only did Midgley refuse the spot-kick appeals, he made it patently clear that if Nevin 'dived' again, he would be sent off. The Evertonians, not surprisingly, were furious. The match finished up 0-0, but the incident served to fire up the Blues for the replay. The same official was in charge at Goodison Park. When he emerged prior to kick-off to be photographed recieving the official match ball, a home fan lept forward and put a red scarf around his neck. The experienced Bolton referee, a man with quite a reputation or his after-dinner speeches, saw the funny side and almost certainly used it at his next speaking engagement. In the meantime, he concentrated his thoughts on this cup return, Dalglish inspiring the Liverpool fans by naming Peter Beardsley up front alongside Ian Rush. There had been much controversy across the park about the managers reluctance to give the Geordie star a regular place, even though he was a firm favourite with the fans. This would eventually culminate in Beardsley accepting a surprise offer from Howard Kendall to join Everton. But for now, he was very much a Kop idol. And he had the visiting fans on their feet after just three minutes, with a swerving drive that was parried by Neville Southall, the goalkeeper recovering to snatch the ball away from the marauding Rush. |
| The Reds continued to hold sway with Jan Molby lording it in cental midfield. Now Kendall replaced the unhappy Ray Atteveld with Stuart McCall and two minutes after the interval, Everton equalised. Hinchcliffe curled in a left-wing cross and Graeme Sharp arrived to power in a header which Grobbelaar could only push onto the inside of the post, the ground erupted as the ball found the back of the net. The Blues now took control with Sharp ready to fight for every ball and every situation. Nevin scooped over and Mike Newell volleyed wide, only for Beardsley to respond with a cracking left-foot shot after 71 minutes that restored his side's lead. But no sooner had the visiting cheers died away, when Sharp lifted Everton's spirits with a vital equaliser following a misunderstanding between Grobbelaar and Steve Nicol. Liverpool now demonstrated their Champion spirit by going ahead or the third time after 77 minutes, when Molby's cross was nodded home by Rush. Few people in the ground thought Everton would recover from this body blow, but their resilience on the night was quite remarkable. Only 60 seconds were remaining when Tony Cottee , an 85th-minute replacement for Nevin, raced on to McCall's pass to score a clinical equaliser that forced the game into extra-time. At this stage, the fans were as exhausted as the players. Liverpool went for the early blow in the extra period, but the superb Southall claimed a cross-shot from Barnes, a Rush header and a point-blank effort from Barry Venison. But even the famous Welsh international 'keeper had no chance when Barnes curled home a superb right-foot shot from the edge of the box after 102 minutes. It meant Liverpool were in front fo the fourth time. It was all or nothing for Everton and they came up trumps with Cottee proving a real 'super-sub'. With six minutes left, he fired in a shot that found the net through Grobbelaar's legs after Glenn Hysen had allowed Molby's attempted backpass to run on into the box. It was 4-4 and when Midgley finally called an end, both teams recieved a memorable standing ovation. The only snag was, they had to go through it all again the following Wednesday. Could the players and supporters last the pace? |
| Liverpool took the lead after 32 when Kevin Ratcliffe was disposessed by Rush, who sped goals wards to draw Neville Southall and shoot towards an unguarded net. Incredibly, Andy Hinchcliffe cleared off the line, only for the alert Rush to nod to Beardsley who scored. |