Everton were two goals ahead. Liverpool had barely twenty minutes to recover.

Steve Heighway changed the match. He scored from a narrow angle, then crossed for John Toshack to head the equaliser. Chris Lawler completed the turnaround as Liverpool beat the reigning champions 3–2 at Anfield on 21 November 1970.

Bill Shankly’s side contained six players making their first league derby appearance. Heighway had come from non-league Skelmersdale United earlier that year. Toshack was playing only his second match for Liverpool. Both were part of a changing team whose immediate problem was scoring goals.

Liverpool had drawn their previous two league matches 0–0. Their defence had conceded just seven goals in sixteen league games, but the attack was struggling to turn that security into victories. Everton’s title defence had also been uneven. The contemporary previews anticipated a tight contest, with little reason to expect five goals.

For the first half, that assessment held. The match was goalless and frequently interrupted by fouls, with Everton creating the greater threat. Joe Royle troubled Liverpool in the air; Toshack received little service at the other end.

Liverpool began the second half more positively, but Everton scored first. Johnny Morrissey won possession from Tommy Smith and Alan Whittle’s lofted effort passed over the advancing Ray Clemence. Royle then headed Everton’s second. Liverpool’s defensive record offered no protection from a defeat that was now taking shape on their own ground.

The response began on the left.

In the 69th minute, Smith found Heighway with a pass out towards the touchline. Heighway beat John Hurst and drove towards the byline. With Toshack waiting for a cross, he instead shot through the gap between Andy Rankin and his near post.

Liverpool had a way back, and Heighway soon created the equaliser. This time he beat Tommy Wright and delivered the cross. Toshack rose above Brian Labone to head into the net: his first Liverpool goal, scored against Everton in front of the Kop.

The two newcomers had brought Liverpool level. The winner came from a full-back arriving in the penalty area.

Alec Lindsay sent the ball in from the left, Toshack headed it on and Lawler struck past Rankin. Liverpool had scored three times in the closing stages to turn a two-goal deficit into a derby victory.

“We threw the game away,” Harry Catterick said afterwards. His frustration was understandable. Everton had earned their lead and contained Liverpool’s forwards for much of the match, only to lose control when Heighway began beating defenders on the left.

The victory lifted Liverpool to sixth. It also gave Shankly concrete evidence of what his new forwards could offer together: Heighway’s ability to beat a man and deliver, Toshack’s strength in the air and his usefulness to players arriving around him. In only his second appearance, Toshack had scored one goal and helped make another. Both had been needed to win his first Merseyside derby.

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