Next up in our series on the games I think are five of the most famous and most important matches in recent years for Everton, I take a look at a match that helped define the best season in the Blues history.
I’m talking about a game from early in the 1984-85 season, as Everton were embarking on what all Blues fans hoped and prayed would be a successful tilt at the First Division Championship.
You’ve probably guessed, but this match is that famous Merseyside derby at Anfield in October, when the Toffees travelled to the defending champions for the biggest clash between the two teams in years.
The previous season had turned out to be a satisfying one in the end for Everton as the Blues had reached the Milk Cup final, only losing to Liverpool after a replay, and winning the FA Cup, the club’s first trophy in 14 years.
The question on the lips of every Evertonian, was could the Toffees finally mount a proper challenge to their all-conquering neighbours and maybe win the league title next season?
Everton had a talented young team with emerging stars in players like Neville Southall, already considered one of the best goalkeepers in the land, Graeme Sharp in attack and Trevor Steven.
But to many they were still considered a largely unknown quantity, and there were plenty of doubters both here on Merseyside and elsewhere, about whether they would be able to challenge for the championship.
And the season had got off to a stuttering start again raising fears that this was another false dawn. But despite this, the Blues had recovered, got into their stride and were enjoying a reasonably good run of form as October began.
However as the first derby game approached, it was obvious that a trip to Anfield was the biggest test yet of how far this Blues side had progressed. Could the Toffees beat the Reds at their place and show they might be ready to take the title off their fiercest rivals?
Of course, agonizingly at this time, Liverpool were the dominant team in English and European football, setting the standards everyone else had to try and follow.
In those days, it seemed like they were pre-destined to win a prize every year. And in fact, the 1983-84 season had been their best ever as they had won a third consecutive league title, the Milk Cup for the fourth time in a row, and a fourth European Cup!
There seemed no end in sight to this relentless roll call of honours year after year, which made life as an Evertonian almost unbearable. However the Reds had lost a key player, their captain and midfield general Graeme Souness, who had moved to the Italian club Sampdoria in the summer.
They had struggled badly to replace him, and were languishing off the pace in the First Division going into this match, closer to the relegation zone than the top of the table. Liverpool actually needed the points far more than Everton, a pleasingly unusual state of affairs!
So all-in-all, it looked like a good time to play them. But in truth although they were weakened by the loss of Souness, Liverpool were still a very good side with great quality throughout their team.
They had many good players such as Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson in defence, Ian Rush, the previous season’s top scorer, and the brilliant, evergreen Kenny Dalglish up front.
And of course Anfield was a fortress, which was rarely breached. Indeed Everton hadn’t won there since 1970, coincidentally the last season when they were crowned league champions.
Moreover the Blues were also missing a key component in their team, ex-Liverpool player Kevin Sheedy, who was enduring one of his periodic, injury-related absences. Alan Harper, another buy from the Reds, would ably fill in as he so often did.
The first half was a tight and generally even one as the two teams probed for weaknesses. Chances were few, and it was a tense, physical and error-strewn game as both sides had so much at stake. Rush had the best opportunity for Liverpool, but Southall saved well.
Then early in the second half came one of the most famous goals in the Toffees history.
Peter Reid fed a ball to Trevor Steven on the right and he hit a pass over the top, which Graeme Sharp brought down instantly with one superb touch before firing an irresistible dipping half-volley over the head of a desperately leaping Bruce Grobelaar and into the Liverpool net.
The Evertonians who had crowded into Anfield, went berserk and many ran gleefully onto the pitch to celebrate what was one of the best goals seen in a derby, (or for that matter any other game), for years.
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Liverpool did have a few chances later in the match, but Everton held on comfortably in the end. When the final whistle went they had achieved a very important 1-0 win against their greatest rivals, on their patch, that gave the team confidence they were good enough to beat the best.
The Blues then crushed Manchester United 5-0 at Goodison Park in their next league game, a match in which it seemed like a big weight had been lifted from their shoulders. And at season’s end the league championship moved from Anfield to Goodison Park.
While there were many other more substantial wins for the Toffees that season, and perhaps many occasions they played better, this derby win was a crucial moment early in the campaign.
It gave every player and the fans the belief that this was a team that had turned the corner at last and was really capable of winning the biggest prize of all, the league championship. Oh for those glorious days again!