Ian Rush came off the bench to score twice in extra time as Liverpool beat Everton 3–2 in the FA Cup final on 20 May 1989. Played five weeks after the Hillsborough disaster, the Wembley final brought the two Merseyside clubs together before 82,800 spectators.
Liverpool led from the fourth minute. Steve Nicol’s pass found Steve McMahon, who moved the ball on for John Aldridge to run through and beat Neville Southall. The lead lasted almost to the end of normal time, but Liverpool failed to extend it. Southall blocked Peter Beardsley’s shot with his legs after Paul Bracewell had inadvertently played the forward in.
Both managers turned to their substitutes. Stuart McCall replaced Bracewell; Rush came on for Aldridge in the seventy-second minute. With normal time almost over, McCall scored from close range after Bruce Grobbelaar failed to hold the ball during an Everton attack involving Pat Nevin and Dave Watson.
Early in extra time, Rush restored Liverpool’s lead, turning to finish from Nicol’s cross. McCall answered with a volley after controlling a clearance by Alan Hansen. For a second time, Everton were level.
Rush responded before the interval in extra time, heading in John Barnes’s cross to make it 3–2. McCall had become the first substitute to score twice in an FA Cup final; Rush promptly matched him and supplied the winning goal.
Liverpool still had two league matches to play, against West Ham United and Arsenal, with the championship also within reach.