A trip to play Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United at Old Trafford was always an unsettling, discouraging prospect, no matter how good a side you were. That United were more than just tough to beat, they were formidable, capable of running teams over like a steaming freight train.
Imagine facing that facing that trip as an Everton team coming off the back of a bitterly disappointing 2-1 FA Cup semi-final defeat to Liverpool, then. As an Everton team that had not won at Old Trafford in 20 years, indeed. ‘Nightmare away day’ is the only description that suffices.
On 22 April 2012, that was precisely the predicament David Moyes’ Everton side found themselves in. And when they were 4-2 down with ten minutes to go, it looked like being the culmination of a disastrous week for the Toffees. At that point, it was surely a case of how many United would add.
Somehow, though, Everton staged the comeback of a lifetime. Not only did they draw the game 4-4 with two remarkable late goals, they brought their opponents’ title charge grinding to a halt and perhaps even paved a path for United’s future managerial recruitment.
By 2012, David Moyes had built a bona fide footballing dynasty at Everton. Moyes had been at Goodison since 2002 and had built and re-built several solid sides, taking them from the brink of relegation when he came in to become regular European contenders from 2005 onwards.
Silverware had eluded him however, so the loss to Liverpool, who Everton were ahead of in the league, in that semi-final came as a heavy blow, especially given the way it happened. They had the lead at Wembley, only for an uncharacteristic mistake from Silvain Distin and Andy Carroll’s headed winner three minutes from time to send Liverpool through.
Recalling the game to Goal in 2020, Jamie Carragher said: “They thought they were going to win that day, and to lose the way they did must have killed them. I remember Phil Neville told me that Moyes didn’t speak to anyone for a week after that game!”
Quite how he rallied his troops before the United fixture remains a mystery, if that is true. But – through a mixture of enraged hand gestures and piercing glares, perhaps – he managed just that.
Everton looked the better side in the opening exchanges at Old Trafford and Steven Pienaar, who had missed the semi-final the previous week, cup-tied having played for Tottenham in an earlier round, was at the centre of the Toffees’ sharp play, finding pockets of…
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