My First Derby

by Steven Jones  |   06/12/2024  2 Comments  [Jump to last]

There was great excitement in our house in the week before the 112th Merseyside derby, 6 December 1969. Two tickets for the Gwladys Street stand rested on the sideboard.

Everton hadn’t dropped a point at home; Liverpool hadn’t won at Goodison since their return to the top division under Shankly and the promise of the previous season looked to be now delivering a real Championship challenge.

Goodison Road felt different on that day, or because it was my first derby, it felt special through the eyes of a 10-year-old. The smell of onions, the Golden Goal shouts, rattling of turnstiles were all there; even someone optimistically shouting, ‘Any spares?’.

The energy was heightened.

The game was fast with few chances for Everton, and I remember noticing the difference in forward play between the teams. Liverpool’s forwards: Graham and St John had more movement off the ball. My Dad’s mood deepened when Emlyn Hughes forced Liverpool ahead, in the second half, mainly because he’d spent the first half moaning about Hughes’s antics.

Then followed ‘that goal!’  The goal that has gone down in folklore.

Sandy Brown mystifyingly heading into his own goal, past a shocked Gordon West. Graham added a third and Everton’s season had taken a jolt.

Revenge was gained at Anfield and the Championship returned to Goodison. We had the 1970 World Cup to look forward to and the future looked bright for a time.

back Return to Talking Points index  :  Add your Comments »

Reader Comments (2)

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer ()


Darrel Pugh
1 Posted 06/12/2024 at 13:20:55
It's a life defining moment. Forget JFK, first derby is much more important. That Sandy Brown goal is still as unwatchable as the Clive Thomas semi, the 84 Milk Cup handball, the 86 Final, and weirdly enough the 1-1 equalizer in the 86 Charity Shield. If only Kevin Langley had made it 2!

My first derby in 91-92, super MoJo made it 1-1. Some red in the Gwladys Street end kept saying ‘Take the piss L'pool' I think he left when Keown's header nearly won it for us, Houghton headed off the line.

John Raftery
2 Posted 06/12/2024 at 23:01:45
My first proper derby was the season before in August 1968, a 0-0 draw at Goodison. That’s not counting those I snuck into for the last quarter hour when the gates opened.

The 0-3 derby was our only home defeat in 1969/70. The fact that Match of the Day chose the game for a rare visit to Goodison made it seem worse. Fortunately we followed it up with three vital 1-0 wins at West Ham and at home to Derby and Manchester City just before Christmas. Those wins kept the team ticking over in what might otherwise have been a disastrous month with us losing at Leeds on Boxing Day.

Our revenge at Anfield on a rainy Saturday 21st March 1970 was very sweet. Of all the 129 derbies I have attended that is the one to which I would most like to travel back in a Time Machine.

Add Your Comments

In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.

» Log in now

Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site.


How to get rid of these ads and support TW

© ToffeeWeb