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From Kenny Dalglish's diary
- From Kenny Dalglish's diary: "Craig Johnston’s return to fitness and Gary Gillespie’s recovery meant I had a lot of players to choose from for tonight’s match with Derby, and I knew how disappointed those who were left out would be. I decided to recall Craig to right midfield, with Steve Nicol reverting to left-back, Gary returning at centre-back in place of Nigel Spackman and Mark Lawrenson being squeezed on to the substitute’s bench alongside Paul Walsh. There was a tremendous crowd of more than 43,000, which is exceptional for a midweek. match. The players had to beat not only Peter Shilton in Derby’s goal but also a five-man visiting defence of Mel Sage, Paul Blades, Ross MacLaren, Mark Wright and Michael Forsyth – a compliment, no doubt, to the way we have been playing and the number of goals we have been scoring.
In the 21st minute, the team had a goal disallowed. It was a bitter experience for them considering the barriers they had managed to overcome. Wright was booked by referee Gorge Tyson for bringing down Gary Gillespie on a surging run. At the free-kick, Ronnie Whelan ran over the ball and John Barnes hit a magnificent left-foot shot Derby’s ‘wall’ and Shilton to fly into the top corner of the net. But our celebrations were short-lived: the referee, on the intervention of a linesman, disallowed the goal, maintaining it should have been an indirect not a direct free-kick. All I know is that our lads believed it was direct and took it accordingly,
The team deserve a lot of credit for reacting so positively to that setback, and the players got their reward when Forsyth brought down Craig Johnston four minutes before half-time and John Aldridge beat Shilton from the penalty spot. The second half was only two minutes old when Aldridge headed down Craig Johnston’s cross for Peter Beardsley to score his first home goal at the Kop end. He received his rightful salute from the fans. But for some great saves by Shilton – who I can only remember once making a mistake against us in the FA Cup tie at Nottingham Forest in 1980 – we would have been several goals ahead before the hour.
We made it three in the 69th minute when another penalty conceded by Forsyth – this time for a challenge on Barnes – was slotted home by Aldridge. His delight was obvious to everyone when he clinched his hat-trick in the 73rd minute after Craig Johnston had helped on Steve Nicol’s cross. The final score was 4-0 – a deserved reward for some fine football.
England manager, Bobby Robson. who watched the game, joined in the praise of our team performance and likened the display of John Barnes to George Best. I think it is difficult to make comparisons. We are happy at the way John is playing just as we are happy about the contribution of everyone who has appeared in the team so far – and I am sure our fans fell they have been entertained."
Copyright - Kenny Dalglish
In the 21st minute, the team had a goal disallowed. It was a bitter experience for them considering the barriers they had managed to overcome. Wright was booked by referee Gorge Tyson for bringing down Gary Gillespie on a surging run. At the free-kick, Ronnie Whelan ran over the ball and John Barnes hit a magnificent left-foot shot Derby’s ‘wall’ and Shilton to fly into the top corner of the net. But our celebrations were short-lived: the referee, on the intervention of a linesman, disallowed the goal, maintaining it should have been an indirect not a direct free-kick. All I know is that our lads believed it was direct and took it accordingly,
The team deserve a lot of credit for reacting so positively to that setback, and the players got their reward when Forsyth brought down Craig Johnston four minutes before half-time and John Aldridge beat Shilton from the penalty spot. The second half was only two minutes old when Aldridge headed down Craig Johnston’s cross for Peter Beardsley to score his first home goal at the Kop end. He received his rightful salute from the fans. But for some great saves by Shilton – who I can only remember once making a mistake against us in the FA Cup tie at Nottingham Forest in 1980 – we would have been several goals ahead before the hour.
We made it three in the 69th minute when another penalty conceded by Forsyth – this time for a challenge on Barnes – was slotted home by Aldridge. His delight was obvious to everyone when he clinched his hat-trick in the 73rd minute after Craig Johnston had helped on Steve Nicol’s cross. The final score was 4-0 – a deserved reward for some fine football.
England manager, Bobby Robson. who watched the game, joined in the praise of our team performance and likened the display of John Barnes to George Best. I think it is difficult to make comparisons. We are happy at the way John is playing just as we are happy about the contribution of everyone who has appeared in the team so far – and I am sure our fans fell they have been entertained."
Copyright - Kenny Dalglish
