Derek Mountfield headed in an extra-time winner for Everton in their FA Cup semi-final against Luton Town on April 13, 1985
The sight of Derek Mountfield running off smiling with both his arms aloft having scored the winner for Everton in the FA Cup semi-final is the iconic image of his time at the club. But when recalling the magic moment the Blues legend reckons he had another more-important goal.
Despite playing at centre-half, lifelong Evertonian Mountfield netted 14 goals in all competitions in 1984/85, the club’s most-successful season. This most-memorable one came 39 years ago today on April 13, 1985, five minutes from the end of extra-time against Luton Town at Villa Park.
Mountfield acknowledges the header against the Hatters is the most-spoken about of his efforts but maintains it would have never had come about had it not been for another late goal he netted in the previous round of the FA Cup at home to Ipswich Town. Everton’s 2-2 draw at Goodison Park that day is best-remembered for Kevin Sheedy putting the ball in the back of the net both times with a twice-taken free-kick but Mountfield kept Howard Kendall’s side in the competition with a late equaliser which earned them a replay at Portman Road that they won 1-0.
Speaking in the special Royal Blue podcast series Goodison Park: My Home, Mountfield told the ECHO: “The Luton goal doesn’t happen unless I score the late equaliser against Ipswich in the round before when for some strange reason, Pat Van Den Hauwe is playing right-back at the time when he should have been left-back. He flicks the ball over his head, volleys it across and I get the touch on it in the 87th minute when we were 2-1 down.
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