RUSH'S FINEST HOUR: A TALE OF TWO FINALS

I think most people would safely assume that my favourite game for Liverpool would involve one of our FA Cup final victories over Everton.

They were both fantastic occasions for very different reasons and I think they are high up on my list of great memories, for the simple fact that, in each of them, we went on to beat Everton!

The 1986 clash stands out because it was the first all-Merseyside FA Cup final, and at that time I felt that the two best teams in Europe - never mind England - were Liverpool and Everton.

We'd just pipped them to the title a week earlier when Kenny scored that great goal at Chelsea and I think most people felt it was going to be Everton's day because of that.

At half-time they must have thought they had one hand on the cup after Gary Lineker's goal had given them the lead. But we had other ideas, and I think it was all the more sweet for being such an impressive comeback victory. It just highlighted the character of our side.

In 1989 it went the other way really. We had a great start when Aldo grabbed a superb goal, but we were hanging on then and it turned into a bit of a slog as we tried to see it through.

Then Stuart McCall equalised in the last minute and I think our heads went down.

Lots of their fans ran on to the pitch and it showed that they thought the tide had turned in their favour. They were so desperate to beat us.

One image that stands out in my mind was just prior to the goal. One of their fans ran up to Pat Van Den Hauwe and, how should we put it, expressed his frustration!

But we somehow found another gear in extra-time, and even though they equalised again just after I'd put us 2-1 up, we managed to snatch the third and decisive goal.

It was a very fitting victory when you consider what happened in the semi-final at Hillsborough.

I always think that we won it in 1986 for the players, but in 1989 we won it for the fans and the people who lost their lives on that tragic day in April.


If I have to pick one of the two I will always say 1986 and the only thing that came close to that was three years later when we walked out at Wembley to see red and blue everywhere.

Merseyside was united and I don't think you'll ever see anything like that again - not even at a Liverpool versus Everton game. The city was united before the game and the chants of Merseyside were very emotional.

Of course, when it started that all changed, but it is a moment I will never forget on what was another triumphant day for Liverpool Football Club.