On This Day – 20th February
On this day back in 1991, Everton and Liverpool played each other in a Fifth Round Replay in the FA Cup and it was one of the greatest Merseyside Derbies of all-time.
The game was played at Everton’s Goodison Park and finished 4-4 after extra-time.
Liverpool took the lead four times and Everton would peg their rivals back and equalise.
Liverpool’s first came from a breakaway from an Everton free-kick. Ian Rush had an effort cleared off the line and Peter Beardsley fired in the rebound.
Graeme Sharp equalised for Everton three minutes into the second half, heading in a cross at the far post. Bruce Grobbelaar in the Liverpool goal should have done better with the header and he knew it, hitting the ground in anger as Sharp and his Everton team mates celebrated.
Peter Beardsley helped himself to his second goal of the game on 71 minutes. He took the ball from out on the right wing and firing a shot into the far corner from 20 yards out.
Graeme Sharp got his second of the game less than two minutes later, forcing the ball in on the goal line after a mix up between Grobbelaar and Steve Nicol at the edge of the box.
Ian Rush headed in Liverpool’s third on 77 minutes and it looked as if that was to be the winning goal until Tony Cottee got round the back of the Liverpool defence to fire past Grobbelaar and take the game into extra time.
John Barnes then scored the best goal of the game in the first half of extra time to give Liverpool the lead for the fourth time.
Barnes got the ball out wide on the left wing and was pretty much standing on the touchline before dribbling slowly towards the edge of the box.
As he reached the corner of the penalty area, he rifled a shot hard, looping shot over Neville Southall into the far corner of the net.
Everton wouldn’t give up now and with seven minutes to go, Tony Cottee found a bit of space in the penalty area and hit a hard shot across Grobbelaar into the back of the net. The game would have to go to another replay.
Kenny Dalglish retired a few days after the match. Everton would go on to beat Liverpool 1-0 in the replay at Anfield.
About Author
