February 20, 1991: The 4-4 draw that changed football on Merseyside forever
MANY claim it was the greatest derby of all time – one for the ages.
Exactly 30 years ago to the day, February 20, 1991, Liverpool visited Goodison Park for an FA Cup fifth-round replay on a wild Mersey night, to fight out an extraordinary match that ended 4-4 – and left observers barely able to compute what had happened.
I was one of them, a wideeyed youngster who had never covered a contest of that magnitude before.
And certainly not one which contained more drama in the half-hour of extra time than the episode of Coronation Street that was broadcast against it that night.
Corrie won hands down of course, viewing figures of around 18million, as opposed to the few thousand who witnessed the experiment of live broadcast on the Sports Network Channel, by the newly merged company BSkyB, and their commentator Martin Tyler.
It would be nice to say now that it was the night when those in the press box realised they were witnessing what ultimately proved to be the last rattle of the dominance of the city, after a decade of sharing trophies between them.
It was mayhem, the noise making it impossible for many to be heard.
Though interestingly, Goodison was far from full – the attendance looking rather less than the official figure of 37,766, even with tickets available before kick-off. A classic to be sure, though even the odd glance up could determine that some of the defending on show – particularly by Liverpool, who were missing captain Alan Hansen to a season-long injury that eventually forced his retirement – was far from classic.
Everton were not the team they were in the ’80s, a returning Howard Kendall not the manager he was, and that was evident in the first half when Liverpool dominated.
And clues too, that Kenny Dalglish was struggling with the burden he selflessly took on in the aftermath of Hillsborough. He sat mostly in the dugout, staring, motionless, not instructing.
It was a heavy pitch that drained the legs.
Yet Dalglish didn’t make a substitution in 120 minutes, when he had two available in Ray Houghton and David Speedie.
Years later, he admitted he didn’t know what to do, turned to ask Ronnie Moran and Roy Evans for advice.
That was a moment when he realised his decisionmaking was shot, and he decided to walk away the next day, announcing it at a press conference on the Friday.
It was the end of an era for both clubs… and the start of one for English football, as Sky decided that night this live football thing was a drama that could match Corrie. It was a night that changed football on Merseyside forever.