CITY 0 EVERTON 1
Barclays League Division 1
17th September 1991
attendance 27,509
scorer Beardsley(67)
Ref M Reed
City Coton, Hill, Pointon, Reid, Curle, Redmond, white, Heath, Quinn, Megson, Hughes – subs Sheron(36), Hendry(86)
Everton Southall, Atteveld, Hinchcliffe, Ebbrell, Watson, Keown, Warzycha, Beardsley, Newell, Sheedy, Ward – subs McDonalod(55), Cottee(unused)
FROM THE PRESS BOX
KEN ROGERS WRITING IN THE LIVERPOOL ECHO 18TH SEPTEMBER 1991
Peter Beardsley put a smile as wide as the Mersey Tunnel on the face of Howard Kendall last night.
And in claiming an absolutely crucial loan-goal winner for the Blues, the Goodison Striker rammed a thousand and one jibes down the throats of the most ungrateful fans in the entire Football League.
Never has a victory been so sweet for a manager who was rewarded for showing almost blind faith in players who let him down so badly at Sheffield United on Saturday.
Beardsley’s second half lob separated these arch-rivals in the final reckoning, but not before City hit the bar twice In the dying minutes as well as sensationally missing a penalty in injury time.
Inexplicably, they handed the spot kick challenge to a woefully inexperienced rooky, Michael Hughes, making his first senior start in three years. He blasted his shot high over the top and for once lady luck was with Everton who clung on for their first away win of the season.
It was always going to be a bizarre kind of night with so many ex-Everton players wearing City shirts and vice versa.
Kendall was back at Maine Road for the first time since quitting City last November. He deserved a hero’s welcome instead they gave him a shameful reception confirming what I’ve known for some considerable time that there’s something slightly manic about the so-called faithful on the Kippax.
When a manager keeps a club in the First Division lays the foundations for a team to be proud of and then leaves for no personal gain other than to join a club that has been his life, there is no room for malice.
Kendall should have got a standing ovation on his return. Instead they hurled abuse and branded him a Judas.
England manager Graham Taylor was an interested spectator in the crowd.
Tongue-in-cheek someone suggested he was having a look at that most enthusiastic of midfield generals Peter Reid, now in the twilight of a marvellous career. Sadly the City boss only lasted 36 minutes before limping off injured.
His side started quite well, David White forcing Neville Southall to block with his legs early on and Heath flashing a shot over the top desperately keen to snatch one against his old club.
Martin Keown then made a good block from Niall Quinn after Southall denied White.
Everton struggled to make an impact until a minute before half-time when a thundering Beardsley header crashed down onto the line off the underside of the bar. The visiting players claimed it was in, but with the kind of luck the Blues have been having of late, there was more chance of the City fans giving Kendall a long overdue cheer than the referee giving a goal.
Almost immediately, City sub Mike Sheron, a scouser, hammered in a left foot shot that was palmed away by Southall.
Everton made an early change in the second half, replacing Warzycha with McDonald, who played well in the middle of the park, enabling Ward to test City down the right.
Ray Atteveld’s long ball was misjudged completely by £2.5M defender. Keith Curle. Beardsley was on it like a flash, hoisting the ball over the advancing Coton from 10 yards out. He had missed a crucial lob at Sheffield United on Saturday. Now he had scored a goal of colossal importance. But the drama was far from over. City sent on Colin Hendry to replace Andy Hill in the closing stages and in a chaotic scramble in the visitor’s box, he hit the bar along with fellow sub Sheron. It seemed Everton were finally home and dry. But when Ward, captain for the night against his old club, held Hendry in the area, City were awarded a last gasp penalty.
An array of talent stood back and thrust the weight of the world on the shoulders of the inexperienced Hughes. His shot soared over the bar. This time it really was all over and justice, for Kendall at least, had been done.