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Liverpool say "Same to you" after Farrell got his gift!

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Liverpool; Sidlow, goal; Lambert and Spicer, backs; Taylor (P.P (captain), Hughes and Jones (W.H.), half-backs; Payne, Baron, Done, Fagan and Liddell, forwards. Everton; Burnett, goal; Moore and Saunders, backs; Grant, Jones (captain), and Lello, half-backs; Buckle, Farrell, Wainwright, Powell, and Eglington, forwards.

Liverpool recovered from the breathtaking body blow of a goal in the first half minute. They won comfortably in the end, thanks to goals by Fagan and Baron. If there were two heroes today they were Grant of Everton, and W.H. Jones of Liverpool. Grant was tenacity itself, and Jones, in the Taylor mould, was a wing-halfback nearing perfection. Everton decided to include Farrell at inside right, with Wainwright at centre forward, and Powell at inside left. The weather was perfect, and there must have been a good 50,000 waiting patiently for the teams to turn out. Tom Jones and Phil Taylor led out the team in file. Liverpool won the toss and elected to defend the Kop goal. The start was sensational. In the first half minute Farrell was a scorer and a god one. Everton came through down the centre, were half checked by Hughes but Powell got in a short pass to Wainwright, who turned the ball inwards to where Farrell was running clear of everyone. This half back turned forward took the ball on two strides and then hit a rangy long-distance drive right out of Sidlow’s reach. It seemed as though Farrell could scarcely believe he had scored, and certainly the Kopites were too flabbergasted to make any sound.

Sidlow Worried
Liverpool were crowded out when they made two left-wing attacks, and Everton, playing confidently and well, had Sidlow worried for a moment when Lello, with a hit-or-miss lob, put the ball over the bar, while the goalkeeper tried to cover it and showed no little anxiety. Payne, with the ball tied to his foot, lost it twice and regained it, and finished up with a crossfield pass which Cyril Done claimed he had kicked against Jones for a corner. But no corner award came.

Baron’s Effort
Some of Everton’s forward moves were now a bit obvious, and the Liverpool half-backs were reading them and doing much about it. Liverpool’s first real attempt at scoring was by Baron, who shook off a challenge and went on to slew the ball five yards wide with a badly pulled shot. Done elected to shoot with his left foot rather than bring Payne into the picture, but he too, got no direction or pace in his shot. Liverpool were luckiest when Payne hit a very good length centre beyond the far post and Fagan got up to head into a goal open of everyone except Saunders whose head steered the ball to safety. Burnett off a Liddell corner, temporarily lost possession after having appeared to have the ball in his grasp and there was an outside chance of Payne converting this mistake into a goal.

Payne Delights
Payne delighted the Liverpool section of the crowd with his three-penny bit dribbling and eventually he managed to get in his centre. Bill Jones’s heading was good, and so was the tenacious tackling of little Jackie Grant and so also was that big punch-away by Burnett off Liddell’s centre, at this point. Wainwright, taking a quick throw, got the Liverpool defence on one foot, and Powell had taken up position and was only narrowly crowded out from the shooting range. Liverpool it seemed to me, had taken something of a grip on the game, without finding the inspired touch in the forward line.

Grant on Target
Everton played well as a team and fought well for the ball, Eglington chased half the length of the field to cook Payne’s goose after Hughes had found the winger with a perfect long-distance pass. The most uncommon throw-in taken for many a long day was when right-half Spicer stremously tried to find his own goalkeeper with the ball. Before Sidlow could do anything about it Spicer’s throw had won a corner for Everton. Moreover, this led to yet another fierce shot from Grant, the pace being almost as great as last week’s. Unfortunately the top and not the back of the net accepted this offering. The game was played in excellent spirit, and, if not very thrilling was always tense. Lambert’s falling tackle on Eglington won the ball, and then Payne in trying to beat both Saunders and Lello at least won a corner. Saunder’s outstretched foot held up Baron after Done and Liddell had made a sharp down-the-centre move and next Burnett was out to the feet of Fagan to make a brave and sure fielding of the ball. Liddell’s truly-hit free kick, with the Everton defenders standing back to give Burnett a clear view was a piece of cake for the goalkeeper, who saw the ball through all its flight, and accepted it almost nonchalantly. Liverpool were inclined to individualize, but the Everton defence was quite prepared to allow them to go so far, and no further. The persistent Grant was always at hand for any trouble by Liddell, and was relentless in everything he did. Done did the spadework for a Payne burst down the centre, but the winger pushed the ball just that little bit too far forward, and was beaten when trying to make the big shot. He was injured, and needed attention at the first stoppage, but was able to resume. Liverpool were slightly on top, but Burnett was still untroubled except for the occasion when Done surprisingly out headed Tom Jones and the ball came off his head with surprising speed. Done, when shaping to shoot was uprooted by Moore, who was still playing quite adequately and thus the Everton lead survived. Burnett was caught napping when Payne came in at speed and took the ball out of his hands, and Burnett must have felt none too comfortable over a sharp back-header by Jones, which the goalkeeper picked up none too confidently.

Corkscrew Header
The game was developing into a ragged one, but there was a nice touch of finesse in a Liddell free kick, the taker preferring to lift the ball diagonally across the heads of the lined-up. Everton defenders, to Jones, stood by ready to make a header. He was not far off the mark with it either. Everton’s best and only attack for a considerable time began with a corkscrew header by Wainwright, went on via a Buckle inside pass and Eglington header, and a Powell return pass. At this point came the breakdown, because the winger had not anticipated this next move. Liddell limped after winning a corner, and the referee allowed him to be treated off the field before putting the ball in from the flag.

The Little Terror
Powell just could not get his instep to a sharp chance which came from a throw-in in front of the grand stand, this being one of the few occasions Everton had been down that end for some time. Grant was a terror to Liddell and followed the maestro wherever he went to come up with the surprise tackle in his characteristic cheeky way. Fagan’s glanced header from a Taylor free kick, awarded against Lello, was a creditable one. There were a lot of misdirected passes, hereabouts, and the ball simply would not behave on turf which was inclined to be greasy. Done, by the mere process of ducking his head and allowing Jones’s free-kick to sail on towards goal, created some embarrassment in the Everton defence, but all ended well after there had seemed a possibility of the ball entering the net almost direct. The equalizing might well have come from Phil Taylor. He strode up to a Payne centre right on the interval and hit a terrific shot right on the volley, narrowly wide.

Half-time Liverpool 0, Everton 1.

For the first time, when the game restarted we heard the Kop roar, both as encouragement to Liverpool and in derision of Everton defenders who were prepared to play safe and put the ball out of play rather than taken a risk. Aubrey Powell was caught out a little slow moving on a couple of occasions and fellow countryman Ray Lambert on the second occasion was able to put the ball away for a corner when the odds seemed to be in favour of Powell being able to centre.

An All-Welsh Duel
The corner led to another all-Welsh duel between Sidlow and Tom Jones, Sidlow caught Eglington’s corner kick, and then released it and had to make a late grab as Jones tried to burst through. It was still much Liverpool’s game except that they were playing hurriedly and without the calmness we have come to expect from them when in range of scoring. Jones was having a great time against Done, who was too often a solitary vainly trying to pick up long passes.

The Equaliser
The Liverpool equalizer at 56 minutes, came about in an unusual way. Baron claimed a corner when there was a suspicion that the ball had rebounded from an Everton player on to Baron and then over the line. However, the referee was in no doubt, and Payne taking a couple of hops before delivering the ball low and quite wide of the ruck in front of goal, enabled Baron to turn it in deliciously as he sprawled full length. Burnett threw up a pair of despairing hands as the ball found the top of the net. So both goals had been highlights of a match which was hard and stern, but not over full of great football. Liverpool surged on, sensing the possibility of saving themselves, and apart from Sidlow, who picked up on the half-volley a surprise shot from Grant, it was Liverpool all the way.

Talking Point
Jones and Done were spoken to and then Baron and Payne both went up acrobatically with Burnett, and Fagan was within inches of collecting a loose ball and doing something about it. It was good to see Payne as he left the incident asking Burnett whether he was all right after his tumble. Jones got in the Anfield bad books –spectators recalled his foul on Done earlier in the half –and there was the quaint barracking cry, “Dirty Jones.” Liddell, tired of inaction, on the left, came across to Payne’s wing took a bump off Saunders and then got a corner against him. There was some jugglery by Tom Jones’s head, and yet another indecisive goalkeeping pick up before this phase closed. If all Liverpool had been as constructive and unhurried as Jones (W.H.) the story might have been different. In any event Farrell, with a shot from the sole of his foot, was close to giving Everton the lead again. Payne’s corner kicks were none too strong, but again there was a chance of a goal from one of them when Phil Taylor’s fierce shot was killed early in its flight by an Everton body. There was another corner on the Payne wing, and this one Done took with his left foot –an in swinger.

Leading Goal
Grant and Moore were unyielding in defence. Yet strangely Liverpool’s leading goal at 68 minutes came after Moore had stood firm bodily when giving a corner against Liddell. Burnett lost Liddell’s corner, and the ball was shot in by Payne through the ruck, before Fagan snuffed it for himself on the goalline and tapped it over the line to make it 2-1. Even this goal did not set the game alight, but it appeared to have a marked effect on Everton, who could be seen to wilt under it. The truth was that apart from the first half minute goal, their forward line had been seen only rarely. Phil Taylor all through had been excellent, and the Liverpool half-back line was now showing up as the backbone of the side, and the team as a whole playing with far greater confidence. One of Fagan’s passes to Payne had the touch of genius about it, the pity was he could not pick up the return pass.

Hearts A-Flutter!
Lambert had everyone’s hearts in their months when turning the ball from one foot to another before lifting it none too accurately to Sidlow, when standing only a few yards out of goal. One of the few occasions anything was seen of Buckle arose now, and his centre at great endeavour, Lello fired right out of the ground. The new ball was of lighter hue, and was certainly livelier, and so was the game when once again Jones and Done got at cross purposes with the free kick this time in Tom Jones’s favour.

Liddell Made It
For sheer consistency and thoughtful play W.H. Jones was in a class of his own. With two such wing half-backs Liverpool never lacked for a good service of the ball. Liddell, refusing to be denied either the chance of a shot or a centre, now made goal number three, turning the ball back for Baron, coming in at inside-left to shoot beyond Burnett and virtually write off the match as an Everton defeat. Liverpool had now recovered their composure and their poise, and were playing better than at any other time in the game. A Buckle left foot shot which parted the gloom 0it was a really tremendous one –was the only spark of possible Everton recovery. The ranks of the 50,000 were thinning fast and time was ebbing as fast and all that remained was a referee-linesman consultation awarding a Liverpool goal kick when Everton claimed a corner. Grant was the man who came up to make a near corner a possibility. Handshakes all round, and that was that! Final; Liverpool 3, Everton 1.

Copyright - Liverpool Football Echo - Transcribed by http://www.bluecorrespondent.co.nr

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