Continuing the series
where I look back at my five favourite wins against Liverpool’s next
opponents. This weekend Liverpool travel
across Stanley Park for the Merseyside derby to meet Everton and here are my
five favourite wins from past encounters.
27th March 1982
EVERTON (1) 1 (Sharp 24)
LIVERPOOL (1) 3 (Whelan 21, Souness 57,
Johnston 81)
EVERTON: Southall; Borrows, Higgins, Wright, Ratcliffe; Irvine,
McMahon, Ross, Richardson; Heath, Sharp
LIVERPOOL: Grobbelaar; Neal, Lawrenson, Thompson, Kennedy; Lee, Johnston,
Souness, Whelan; Rush, Dalglish
Liverpool arrived at Goodison Park in March 1982 having
suffered defeat in the League there only once since 1971. As defending League Champions they were sitting
well placed in the League, 4pts behind the leaders, Southampton but with 4
games in hand. Everton were back in 12th
and on a run of 1 defeat in their last 6 league games, although they’d also
only won 1 of those matches too.
Liverpool had won the derby 3-1 at Anfield in November and were in good
form having won 4 of their last 5 league games, conceding just twice.
The game was played at a typically frenetic pace, with
tackles flying in everywhere in an era when challenges like that were still
allowed. 20 minutes in and Liverpool
attacked with Johnston’s header coming back off the bar. Rush was unable to convert the chance but it
fell to Ronnie Whelan to hit a shot through a crowd of players and past
Southall for the opening goal. Everton
were determined to get back into the game immediately and their pressure forced
a corner taken on the left by Kevin Richardson.
Grobbelaar’s punch failed to clear the danger and Graeme Sharp stabbed
the ball home for the equaliser barely 3 minutes after Whelan’s goal. Adrian Heath then had a chance he should’ve
hit the target with and then a good move on the right from Liverpool, saw
Dalglish and Whelan combine to give Phil Neal a chance to convert but the
England right-back was reluctant to use his left foot and his shot went wide. Rush finished off the chances in the first
half after a good bustling run from Alan Kennedy, but he dragged his shot wide
of the post.
Early in the second half Graeme Souness had a shot from
outside the area go just over the bar after Brian Borrows had failed to clear a
Dalglish cross. But then as the hour
approached, Lee found Dalglish on the right edge of the area and his customary
shielding of the ball allowed Souness to fire a right foot shot into the
Everton net to restore the visitors lead.
The game was still being played at a blistering pace and in one moment,
Liverpool turned defence into attack with three great passes from Kennedy to
Dalglish to Rush, who put Johnston through but his shot went over. Everton were trying to force their way back
into the game as Grobbelaar was called upon to save well from Trevor Ross and
then Graeme Sharp, who both had long range efforts denied. Then as the game entered the final 10
minutes, Souness played Rush in on the left of the area and his ball into the
area was turned in by Craig Johnston who floated his shot over Southall’s
despairing outstretched left hand. That
effectively killed off any threat the home side could muster and Liverpool had
done the double over their nearest rivals.
This game became the 3rd in a run of 11 straight wins as
Liverpool powered their way to another title.
Everton ended 8th as Howard Kendall was beginning to have the
makings of a side which would become dominant in English football in years to
come.
6th November
1982
EVERTON (0) 0
LIVERPOOL (1) 5 (Rush 11, 51, 71, 85,
Lawrenson 55)
EVERTON: Southall; Borrows, Wright, Keeley, Bailey; King, McMahon,
Sheedy; Heath, Johnson (Richardson), Sharp
LIVERPOOL: Grobbelaar; Neal, Thompson, Hansen, Kennedy; Lee,
Lawrenson, Souness, Johnston; Rush, Dalglish (Hodgson)
The following November,
Liverpool were at Goodison Park having just knocked HJK Helsinki out of the
European Cup in midweek. Their League
form had seen them beaten just twice in 12 matches, whereas Everton had
suffered 5 such setbacks already.
Everton were unbeaten at home, though, winning 4 of their 6 matches at
Goodison. Over 52,000 packed into the
ground and witnessed a goalscoring masterclass.
On a windy Saturday in
November, Billy Wright should’ve given the home side the lead when he failed to
keep his header down, despite being unchallenged. Just after 10 minutes gone and Alan Hansen
intercepted a pass from Andy King in midfield and started out on a familiar
charge forward. He slipped one challenge
in the centre circle and then played a perfectly weighted pass for Ian Rush to
run onto and he calmly slotted the ball past Southall to give the visitors the
lead. Within minutes a ball forward on the
right from Sammy Lee found Rush clear of the defence again, but his shot hit
the bar. Everton were getting torn apart
by the sheer pace of Rush. Southall was
being let down by his defence and one such chance saw him pull off a great
reaction save from a Dalglish header. A
ball cleared out of defence was again clumsily dealt with by Glenn Keeley,
allowing Rush to put Dalglish in but his shot narrowly went over. The game was not yet at the halfway mark and
yet Liverpool could’ve had 5. In a
controversial moment, Dalglish headed Liverpool further in front only to find
the linesman had put his flag up for offside.
The referee initially ignored it but Everton’s protests were enough to
persuade him to consult his assistant and the goal was chalked off. Back then replays weren’t shown from all
angles, but looking at the footage again the flag was definitely down when the
ball was played. Soon after, Hansen’s
ball from the back saw Dalglish get clear of Keeley but the Everton defender,
on loan from Blackburn, pulled him back and gave the referee no option but to
send him off. It was Keeley’s first
appearance for the Blues and he’d now left his side completely in the
lurch. From the resulting free-kick,
Sammy Lee’s shot hit the wall but as it bounced around he had another go and
hit the bar with the ball bouncing back off Southall, agonizingly wide of the
post. Liverpool were relentless and even
Mark Lawrenson got in on the act but his header was just wide. The pace had again been frenetic and somehow
there was only 1 goal in it at half-time although Everton looked shell-shocked.
Early in the second
period Hansen again brought the ball out from the back and found Rush, about 30
yards out. He ran forward and then hit a
shot which got deflected, leaving Southall stranded. Finally Liverpool had doubled their
lead. Lawrenson, playing in midfield,
then charged forward releasing Rush on the left. His looping cross was headed just wide by
Dalglish. But it wasn’t long before
another goal came. Lee took a quick throw
on the right and Everton were caught sleeping, as Dalglish was clear. His ball across the face of the goal was
turned in at the far post by Lawrenson.
Ten minutes later and a wonderful quick passing move involving Souness,
Dalglish and Rush ended with the Welshman converting the chance, only to see
the linesman had raised his flag for offside.
Dalglish was orchestrating things and during one move he played a ball
out to Rush on the right from the centre-circle, and was then on hand to
receive it back on the edge of the area only to find his shot was straight at
Southall.
With 20 minutes still
remaining, Dalglish again put Rush through and he was clear of the defence, but
his shot hit the post. As it came back
Rush had time to fire the rebound back in past Southall for his hat-trick, the
first in a Merseyside derby since 1935 (thanks Motty!). With 5 minutes to go the game resembled a
training ground outing as Lee was given too much time in midfield and as he
watched for the runs ahead of him, he picked out Rush and yet again he was
clear of the defence and he neatly pushed the ball past Southall and then
passed it into the net for his 4th goal. It was a horror show for the home side but
Rush hit the headlines on a day when Liverpool could’ve hit double figures.
In Paisley’s final year
as manager they picked up the League again and the League Cup again. Everton finished 7th in the
League, denying another double for Liverpool with a 0-0 draw at Anfield.
23rd September
1989
EVERTON (1) 1 (Newell 18)
LIVERPOOL (1) 3 (Barnes 33, Rush 62, 64)
EVERTON: Southall; Snodin, Ratcliffe, Watson, Pointon (McDonald);
Nevin, McCall, Sheedy; Newell, Sharp, Whiteside (Rehn)
LIVERPOOL: Grobbelaar; Nicol, Hysen, Hansen, Burrows; Venison,
McMahon, Whelan; Beardsley, Rush, Barnes
For the first Merseyside
derby in the 1989-90 season, Everton were top of the table with Liverpool in
second. Liverpool were unbeaten in the League
having recently put 9 past Crystal Palace, with Everton having won 4 of their last
5.
In front of 41,000, Everton
were really up for this one. Sheedy had
a shot from a free-kick saved by Grobbelaar and then a ball through by Nevin
found Newell in on goal and he managed to squirt it past the Liverpool keeper
to give the home side the lead.
Liverpool then hit back as Venison’s ball into the area was headed
against the post by Rush. Meanwhile,
down at the other end, Sheedy’s free-kick from the right was headed against the
bar by Sharp as both sides threatened to increase the scoring. Then just after the half hour, good work on
the right by Beardsley saw his find some space to cross and John Barnes headed
the equaliser. The game was poised level
at half-time with the home side having the better of the first half exchanges,
but midway through the second period Liverpool pounced and put the game beyond them.
Beardsley was again the instigator
as he swept the play from right to left to find Barnes on the wing. He skinned Snodin and then his low cross was
turned in by Ian Rush. Before Everton
had managed to re-group, Beardsley was again on the ball and waited until the
right moment to put Rush away again. His
shot bounced up off Southall and Rush was able to bundle it over the line for
his second in two minutes and Liverpool were now 3-1 up. Southall was called upon to deny Rush yet
another hat-trick but Liverpool were comfortable winners in the end. Liverpool were again Champions that season,
winning the title by 9pts. Everton
finished 6th as Liverpool once again did the double over their
nearest rivals.
16th April
2001
EVERTON (1) 2 (Ferguson 42,
Unsworth pen 83)
LIVERPOOL (1) 3 (Heskey 5, Babbel 58, McAllister 90)
EVERTON: Gerrard; Watson (Pistone), Gough (Alexandersson), Weir,
Unsworth, Ball; Xavier, Nyarko, Gemmill; Campbell, Ferguson
LIVERPOOL: Westerveld; Babbel, Hyypia, Henchoz, Carragher; Smicer, Hamann,
Biscan, McAllister; Heskey, Fowler (Vignal)
When Liverpool turned up
at Goodison Park in 2001 they were chasing honours on three front. They had already picked up the Worthington
Cup beating Birmingham on penalties, and were still in the UEFA and FA Cups. They were also chasing a top four finish for
Champions League qualification. Everton were
back in 15th and desperate for points to continue their Premier
League status. The fixture pile-up was
such for Liverpool that they were embarking on 5 games in 12 days. They’d have a UEFA Cup Semi-Final 2nd
leg against Barcelona coming up three days after this clash.
Just 5 minutes into the
game a ball knocked forward by Hamann saw Heskey able to run clear of the defence
and as Gerrard came out, Heskey finished in style for the opening goal of the
game. Both sides has chances to add to
the scoring but it took until just before half-time when Ferguson headed on a
long ball from midfield and as Hyypia and Henchoz combined to stop Scott
Gemmill, the ball broke for Ferguson to drill it home for the equaliser. 1-1 at the break and the game was getting
tense. Midway through the second half, Everton
had a free-kick which Liverpool kept out and the ball dropped to Hamann who
turned and sent Fowler away down the left and his ball into the box was missed
by Smicer and there was Markus Babbel up from right back to fire the ball home
to put the visitors back in front.
Liverpool had just been beaten by Leeds United to find themselves 6pts
behind them in the chase for 4th place and they were desperate for
the points.
Liverpool attacked again on
the hour and Smicer tried to play Fowler in, but he appeared to be impeded by Gough. Referee Jeff Winter pointed to the spot, for
what appeared to be a dubious penalty.
Fowler took responsibility for the kick but hit the post. Everton pressed forward as they needed the
points too, and as one cross came in, Hyypia was penalised for holding Ferguson
and Winter again pointed to the spot.
There were just 7 minutes left and David Unsworth made no mistake from
the spot and Liverpool were looking like they’d thrown it away. Liverpool were desperate for a way to force a
win but chance after chance went begging.
Deep into injury time, Gregory Vignal surged forward to be held back by
Alexandersson and Liverpool were awarded a free-kick about 45 yards out. McAllister elected to take it as the players
grouped around the edge of the box on the right-hand side. McAllister looked for all the world like he
would float a ball into the area, and with the Everton keeper, Gerrard,
expecting just that, he hit a dipping shot straight inside the keeper’s
right-hand post for a dramatic winner in the 4th minute of stoppage
time.
It was a spiteful game
with Everton having 6 players booked and Liverpool had Biscan receive his
marching orders after 78 minutes. But
the points were crucial as Liverpool went onto the claim 3rd place, as well as
win the FA Cup and UEFA Cup in a memorable season. Everton ended two places above the relegation
zone although their margin of 8pts gave them more comfort than the position
would suggest.
30th August
2003
EVERTON (0) 0
LIVERPOOL (1) 3 (Owen 38, 52, Kewell 79)
EVERTON: Wright; Pistone, Stubbs, Unsworth (Gravesen), Yobo; Watson,
Pembridge, Linderoth (Ferguson), Naysmith; Rooney, Radzinski
LIVERPOOL: Dudek; Biscan, Hyypia, Carragher, Finnan; Smicer,
Gerrard, Kewell; Diouf, Owen, Baros
The 2003-04 season was
only two weeks old when these two heavyweights clashed at Goodison. Liverpool had yet to register a win in their
three league outings so far this season.
Everton had a win, loss and draw under their belts.
Everton could consider
themselves unlucky in this game although Liverpool’s finishing was far more
clinical and ultimately, that’s what made the difference. Steven Gerrard was immense in this game,
driving his side forward and encouraging Smicer, Kewell and Diouf to have their
better performances in a red shirt.
Rooney had chances for the home side but was probably short of match
fitness to make a telling contribution.
Seven minutes before
half-time and Michael Owen finally broke the deadlock. Kewell played a through ball for Owen to run
onto and he deftly touched it past Simonsen and then rolled it in off a
post. That gave the visitors a half-time
lead and then seven minutes into the second half and Owen had doubled his, and
his side’s, lead. Baros was involved
this time and Owen finished in style to grab his second when he’d hardly had
more chances up to that point.
Rooney had chances
immediately after each of Owen’s strikes and Ferguson curled a free-kick
against the underside of the bar to frustrate the home fans further. Then as the game moved towards its final 10
minutes, Simonsen came out to try and thwart Owen but the England striker’s
cross found Kewell who drove past the despairing Naysmith on the line. It was Kewell’s first goal for Liverpool and
crowned a fine win. Liverpool manager,
Gerard Houllier became the first Liverpool manager to win four times in a row
at Goodison Park.
Liverpool ended the
season 4th with Everton struggling again down in 17th.
HEAD TO HEAD at Goodison Park
Matches: 108
Liverpool win: 39
Everton win: 40
Draws: 29
Liverpool goals: 132
Everton goals: 136
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