Okay, so I decided to take a proper look back at the 1986 FA Cup Final recently. It’s one of those matches you hear about, the first all-Merseyside final, so I thought I’d dig into it myself, see what it was really like.
First thing I did was try and piece together the build-up. You had Liverpool, who’d just pipped Everton to the league title, and then Everton, who were the reigning Cup holders. Talk about high stakes! It felt like the whole city of Liverpool just decamped down to London for the weekend. I tried finding some old news reports and stuff, just to get the feel for that time.
Digging into the Match Itself
So, I settled down to actually watch the highlights, the extended ones if I could find ’em. Wanted to see the flow of the game properly.
- Everton started strong, didn’t they? I saw Gary Lineker put them ahead in the first half. He was sharp, always sniffing around for a chance. At that point, you’d think maybe Everton had the edge, wanting revenge for the league.
- But then Liverpool came out for the second half. Different team. They just seemed to find another gear.
- Ian Rush. That’s the name that sticks out. He got the equaliser. You could sort of feel the momentum shift right there through the screen, even all these years later.
- Then Craig Johnston, wasn’t it? Put Liverpool ahead. Bit of a scramble, but he got it in.
- And then Rush again, sealing it. 3-1. Clinical finish. He always seemed to score against Everton, that fella.
What Struck Me
Watching it back, the thing that really hit me was the pace and the atmosphere. Wembley looked absolutely packed, red and blue everywhere. It wasn’t like today’s games, maybe less tactical messing about, more direct passion. You could see what it meant to the players and the fans. Liverpool completing the Double, that was massive back then, especially doing it against their biggest rivals in the final.
It wasn’t super complicated, my process. Just finding the footage, watching the key bits, remembering the context around the game. It was good to revisit it, though. Proper old-school cup final drama. Definitely a classic worth remembering.
