FA Cup draw conjures up double Merseyside derby delight

Jan 5 2009 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

Draw conjures up double derby delight

LIVERPOOL and Everton will play two derbies inside a week later this month after being drawn together in the FA Cup fourth round.

Anfield will host the first meeting between the teams in the competition for almost 18 years after the Merseyside rivals were the first two balls taken out of the pot at the Football Association headquarters in Soho Square.

The game will take place on the weekend of January 24-25, with Liverpool already scheduled to entertain their neighbours in the Premier League on Monday, January 19.

And it means a difficult week for Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard, who is due to appear at Sefton magistrates court on January 23 after being charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray following an incident in a Southport bar.

It’s the 16th time the Merseyside rivals have been paired together in the competition, Liverpool claiming nine wins with Everton having progressed on six occasions.

Remarkably, only three of the previous 20 FA Cup derby clashes have been played at Anfield with each ending in a draw and Everton twice emerging victorious at Goodison in a replay.

And it was from such a route that Everton eventually triumphed when the teams last faced off in the competition at the fifth round stage in 1990-91.

After a goalless draw at Anfield, perhaps the most memorable match in Merseyside derby history ended with the need for another replay after Everton came back four times to ensure a remarkable 4-4 draw.

Kenny Dalglish then resigned as Liverpool manager before the second replay at Goodison, where a Dave Watson header was enough to put Everton through to the quarter-finals.