WINNING THE DOUBLE!
On the glorious tenth of May as we walked down Wembley Way, we're full of laughter joy and glee, it's Everton one and Liverpool three!
1986: Having won the League a week earlier at Chelsea, this was our chance to win the Double for the first time, and who better to do it against than the Toffs! Make no mistake, Everton were a fine side and this was going to be a very hard game.
We got a very early train from Wigan on the Friday. Three Reds (me, Stevo and John Evans), two Blues (John Twist and John Mac) and one Wolves supporter (Mally Taylor) arrived in Euston at about ten o'clock. An hour or so was killed by me taking photo's of the then fourteen-year old Stevo outside Euston (how we laugh at those photo's now) before starting our weekend binge in the George. We left the George at about two o'clock and went to a couple of other pubs in North London. I'm not sure exactly where they were as I wasn't very familiar with London at the time.
We arrived at our hotel in Hampstead at about three o'clock and proceedeed to take more drink! The Norwich City team and directors were staying at our hotel and I had a good gab to the then manager Ken Brown who was a very nice guy. We later went to what I can only describe as the weirdest place on earth: Camden Palace! I mean, just what the hell was going on there! There were all kinds of strange people in there; and the music, I'd never heard anything like it. I'm a lot more tolerant, mellow I suppose, so it wouldn't bother me now, but then!
Anyway, after a couple of hours of having my mind broadened we returned to our hotel where we drank 'til about three in the morning. How we all managed to get up for breakfast I don't know, but we did. We left quite early so as the young Stevo, who was having his first taste of Wembley, could savour the atmosphere; I just wanted a pint!
It was the first ever all-Merseyside FA Cup Final and everybody was determined to enjoy the occasion. Reds did seem to outnumber Blues as there looked to be more of us in their end than them in our end. "Merseyside, Merseyside, Merseyside" rang out around the stadium, although I do feel that some Evertonians were just trying to keep it at, "Everton, Everton, Everton" but that is purely a personal opinion.
Gary Gillespie was pronounced unfit to play on the eve of the match due to a stomach upset, so our line-up was: Grobbelaar, Lawrenson, Nicol, Hansen, Beglin, Johnston, Molby, MacDonald, Whelan, Dalglish, Rush.
We started the game brightly, missing a couple of good chances, but the game settled down to a midfield stalemate. In the 28th minute Kenny Dalglish lost the ball in midfield; Reid swept the ball marvellously upfield to Lineker whose initial shot was brilliantly saved by Grobelaar, but Lineker being the superb striker he was pounced on the rebound to put Everton a goal ahead. The half-time score was just about right, but great drama was just around the corner!
Twelve minutes into the second half Jim Beglin intercepted a sloppy pass from Stevens. Beglin passed to Jan Molby and the great Dane expertly played Rush in who netted superbly from an acute angle. The turning point of the game came four minutes later when Hansen's poor clearance was turned towards goal by Sharp. Grobbelaar, stranded in no man's land, seemed to have no
chance of making a save, but a prodigious leap which Brucie later described as his "kangaroo jump" saw the ball over the bar.
Spurred on by this the Reds went for the throat. After 63 minutes Molby, who was having an inspired game, played the ball across goal for Johnston to put us ahead. Our end was rocking! Everton had gone and from now on there was only going to be one winner. Kendall's last throw of the gambler's dice was to substitute full-back Stevens for striker Heath. This served only to give us more space. After 84 minutes the Everton defence was wide open when more good work from Molby sent Ronnie Whelan clear to give Rushie the sort of chance he thrived on.
So that was it, 3-1. A great comeback by the Reds after Everton had been the better team in the first-half. The scenes of celebration in our end were amazing.
When we got back to the hotel in Hampstead it was party time and I must say that the Blues with us took defeat very well. They must have been absolutely gutted to finish runners-up to us in both competitions they expected to win (I'm not laughing, honest) but they joined in the drinking binge. We later went to a pub nearby where Stevo was asked to leave as the landlord thought he was my rent-boy! I tried to explain that he was my son but as he was only fourteen anyway the bouncer insisted, in a bouncer kind of way, that he left. I sent him back to the hotel with a couple of bottles of ale to keep him happy; I brought the lad up well!
We drank 'til five in the morning back at the hotel and I went to bed a very happy man.
When we got home John Evans, me, Big Ev and John's delectable wife Denise went to the Derby Arms in Skem for a big celebration. More ale flowed back at my house and the four of us plus Stevo went outside with the boy's big flag for an all-singing all-dancing hour of fun and frolic!
As I've said before, my ex-wife Ev had many faults but she was a good Red.
If you walk down Goodison Road, hard luck stories you'll be told.
There's not a trophy to be seen, 'cos Liverpool have swept them clean!
What a weekend that was!
