My first experience of a Merseyside derby was also my first win over Liverpool – the FA Cup fourth round tie of January 1981 – but it is remembered for different reasons. We won 2-1 with Imre Varadi scoring our second goal and he celebrated by running straight over to the paddock at Goodison Park where the Evertonians would usually be. He didn’t realise that, because it was an FA Cup tie and Liverpool had been given more tickets than usual, the paddock had been given over to their fans.
He ran over to celebrate with who he thought were the Everton supporters, clenched his fists in front of the Liverpool supporters, and the next thing we know he’s been hit square in the face by a pie. Imagine the outcry if that happened now. It was funny at the time though. The atmosphere was incredible. There were 54,000 inside Goodison and it was a great win for us and Gordon Lee, our manager.
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