30th September

Happy birthdays
1934 - Left-winger Alan A’Court was born in Rainhill. He signed for free from Prescot Cables in September 1952 and scored 63 times in 381 reds games, helping us to the Second Division title in 1962, as well as representing England at the 1958 World Cup in his time at Anfield. He left to join Tranmere Rovers in October 1964.
1949 - Forward Alun Evans was born in Bewdley, near Kidderminster. He was Britain’s first £100,000 teenager when he signed from Wolverhampton Wanderers in September 1968, our new record signing. He scored 33 goals in 111 reds games, including appearing in the 1971 FA Cup Final, before being sold to Aston Villa for £70,000 in June 1972.

1911 - Forward Harold Barton was born in Leigh in Lancashire. He signed for free from Whitegate Juniors in November 1928, and famously bagged a treble in our 7-4 derby win at Anfield in February 1933, netting a total of 29 goals in 109 reds games before joining Sheffield United in June 1934.
1994 – Young full-back Ryan McLaughlin was born in Belfast. He played his first game for the first team against Roma in Boston in July 2012, but moved on to Oldham Athletic in August 2016 having been released without making a senior appearance.

1998 – South African winger Bob Priday died. His chances were limited to forty reds games after he made the switch from Cape Town City in December 1945, as he was behind Billy Liddell in the pecking order. He notched seven times while at Anfield, before moving on to Blackburn Rovers in March 1949.

Another trophy in the cabinet
1986 - We beat Everton 4-1 at Goodison Park to claim the Screen Sport Super Cup, thanks to a 7-2 aggregate scoreline. Ian Rush bagged a treble, with Steve Nicol also netting that night and Graeme Sharp striking a late consolation, one of his seven derby goals. Mark Lawrenson was making his 300th reds appearance.

Rushie off the mark
1981 - Substitute Ian Rush scored his first reds goal as we beat Finnish champions Oulun Palloseura 7-0 in a European Cup First Round fixture, to progress 8-0 on aggregate. A minute’s silence was held before the game, in remembrance of Bill Shankly’s death the day before. Kenny Dalglish opened the scoring with a diving header, our hundredth European Cup goal. Terry McDermott bagged a brace with Ray Kennedy, David Johnson and sub Mark Lawrenson all also on target, the latter with his first reds strike.

Anfield trebles
1975 - John Toshack bagged a treble of headers as we beat Hibernian 3-1 in the second leg of our UEFA Cup First Round tie, to progress 3-2 on aggregate. Winger Alex Edwards netted Hibs’ consolation.

1978 - Jimmy Case netted all the goals in our 3-0 League defeat of Bolton Wanderers, although the game was somewhat spoiled by a smoke bomb that was thrown from the Anny Road end into the Bolton goal area. Kenny Dalglish was stand-in captain in the absence of Emlyn Hughes.
1950 - We hosted the Trotters in another top-flight match, with Jack Balmer netting twice and Jimmy Payne also on target as we drew 3-3. Nat Lofthouse struck one of his eight goals against the reds, with Willie Moir scoring one of his five past us and Harry Webster also on the scoresheet.

Catalogue of errors in north London
2023 – We lost 2-1 at Tottenham Hotspur in a game marred by VAR errors. Luis Diaz had a perfectly legitimate goal disallowed for a non-existent offside before Curtis Jones was harshly sent off. Son Heung-min put the home side in front, the sixth of his seven goals past us to date, but Cody Gakpo levelled in first-half stoppage time. Diogo Jota as also dismissed after the break, with this later being ruled as an incorrect decision, with Spurs claiming victory thanks to an injury-time Joël Matip own goal.

Nous sommes les champions du monde
2001 - Anthony Le Tallec and Florent Sinama-Pongolle both netted for the French Under-17’s in their 3-0 defeat of Nigeria in the Final of the World Championships in Trinidad.
2016 – Future red Dominik Szoboszlai scored from the spot while captaining Hungary Under-17’s as they beat Denmark 3-1 in a European Championships qualifier. On the same day, ex-Academy Manager Steve Cooper took charge of England Under-17’s as they beat Greece 3-0 in a friendly in Croatia, with Rhian Brewster featuring.

Perfect start ends
1893 - We dropped our first point in the Football League as we were held 1-1 by Notts County at Trent Bridge, after winning our first four games. Hugh McQueen was on target for the reds.

Red centurions
1972 – Left-back Alec Lindsay played his hundredth reds game as we won 2-1 at Leeds United. Mick Jones but the home side in front with one of his seven strikes past us, before Larry Lloyd and Phil Boersma secured the points.
1967 – We beat Stoke City 2-1 at Anfield with Peter Dobing opening the scoring with one of his eight goals against the reds. Peter Thompson netted, with Tommy Smith scoring the winner from the spot as Ron Yeats played his 300th reds game.

Off to a winning start
1911 - Left-back Bob Pursell made his reds bow in our 2-1 win at Sunderland. John McDonald scored his fourth and last goal for the club, with Bobby Robinson also on target as Jackie Mordue grabbed one of his six goals against the reds.

Other European fixtures
2010 – We held Utrecht to a dour goalless draw in our UEFA Europa League encounter in the Netherlands.
1997 - We drew 0-0 at home with Celtic, although this was still enough to take us through to the Second Round of the UEFA Cup on the away goals rule.
1969 - We won 4-0 at Dundalk, thanks to a Peter Thompson brace and goals from Bobby Graham and Ian Callaghan, to go through to the Second Round of the Fairs Cup, as we blooded youngsters including Phil Boersma, Ray Clemence and Larry Lloyd. Cally’s goal was our first European strike from a substitute, after he had replaced Peter Thompson at half time.

Mixed derby fortunes
1933 - We beat the Blues 3-2 at Anfield, with Berry Nieuwenhuys scoring his first reds goal. Alf Hanson, Sam English scored, with future red Tommy Johnson nabbing the last of his eight goals against us, with Tommy White netting the last of his four goals past us.
1905 - We lost 4-2 at Goodison in another top-flight encounter, with Joe Hewitt netting both our goals. Jimmy Settle struck one of his eleven goals against us, with Walter Abbott, Harold Hardman and Jack Sharp all also on target as left-back David Murray played his fifteenth and last reds game.

For Rab
1904 - A testimonial match for right-half Rab Howell was staged at Anfield. John Carlin netted both goals as we drew 2-2 with Preston North End. He was the only true Romany to play for England and played 67 reds games without scoring between April 1898 and June 1901, but was forced to retire after breaking his leg while a Preston player.
1901 – We beat the Lillywhites 2-1 in a Lancashire Senior Cup game at Anfield, thanks to goals from Andy McGuigan and Sam Raybould.
1929 – We won 2-0 in a Second Round tie in the same competition at Anfield, with Gordon Hodgson bagging a brace.

Representing the League
1912 - Winger Arthur Goddard and full-back Ephraim Longworth both played for the Football League in their 2-1 defeat of a Southern League team at Old Trafford.

Twice each against the Lancastrian rivals
We have twice faced both Blackburn Rovers and Burnley on this day in history, winning just once.
1899 - We lost 2-0 at Ewood Park in a First Division meeting with Rovers
1922 – We lost by the same score at Turf Moor, with forward Dick Forshaw playing his hundredth League game for the club.
1939 - Phil Taylor struck twice with Jack Balmer, Willie Fagan and Berry Nieuwenhuys also netting as we triumphed 5-0 in a friendly at Blackburn.
1916 - The other game was a goalless Wartime League match against the Clarets at Anfield.

Beaten at the Reebok
2006 - We lost 2-0 at Bolton Wanderers, with the home side opening the scoring from a free-kick incorrectly awarded against Pepe Reina for handball. The reds also hit the post through Xabi Alonso, with Gary Speed and Iván Campo on target for the home side.

First cap
2012 - Future red Marko Grujić won his only Under-17's cap as Serbia trounced Belarus 7-0 in a friendly in Borisov.

Signing on
2008 – Finnish reserves forward Lauri Dalla Valle signed professional terms. He made just one senior appearance before moving to Fulham in August 2010 as part of the deal that brought left-back Paul Konchesky to Anfield.
1971 - Keeper Frank Lane signed from Tranmere Rovers for £15,000, but only made two first-team appearances, deputising for Ray Clemence. Unfortunately, he distinguished himself for all the wrong reasons on his debut in September 1972 by safely catching a deep cross from Derby County’s Alan Hinton and then stepping backwards over his own goal-line, to help us on our way to a 2-1 defeat.

Loaned out
2011 - Jonjo Shelvey joined Blackpool on a temporary basis, netting six times in ten outings before being recalled two months later.
2004 - Reserves defender Jon Otsemobor joined Crewe Alexandra on loan. He played fifteen times for the Alex before returning to Anfield. He later returned to Gresty Road after a brief spell with Rotherham United.

All change
1985 - Future reds winger Jimmy Carter joined Queens Park Rangers from Crystal Palace on a free transfer. He did not make the first team at Loftus Road, moving on to Millwall for £15,000 in March 1987.
1998 - Former youth winger Stuart Quinn, who featured in our victorious FA Youth Cup campaign in 1996, signed for Southport from Altrincham. He only made three appearances for the Haig Avenue side.
1994 - Ex-loanee keeper Mark Prudhoe joined Peterborough United on loan from Stoke City, playing six times for the Posh.

Youngsters on target
2006 - Future red András Simon netted for Hungary Under-17’s as they beat Bulgaria 3-1 in a European Championships qualifier in Armenia.
2005 – Future reds loanee Nuri Şahin struck as Turkey Under-17’s lost their World Cup Semi-final 4-3 to Brazil in Peru.

Other reds games
2001 – John Arne Riise and Danny Murphy netted as we won 2-0 at Newcastle United.
1961 – We thumped Charlton Athletic 4-0 in a Second Division encounter at The Valley. Roger Hunt bagged a brace, with Kevin Lewis and Ian St. John also on target.
1895 – We beat Burton Wanderers 4-1 in a Second Division meeting in L4 with Harry Bradshaw and Frank Becton each netting twice.

Also in international action
2009 – Keeper Dean Bouzanis played for Australia Under-20’s as they lost 3-0 to Costa Rica in the World Championship Finals in Egypt, while Péter Gulácsi and András Simon both featured as Hungary thumped South Africa 4-0.
2018 – Ki-Jana Hoever played for the Dutch Under-17’s in their 6-0 thumping of Montenegro in a European Championships qualifier in Sweden.

2022 - Darwin Núñez scored his first goal as a reds player as Uruguay beat Canada 2-0 in a friendly in Slovakia. Also in action were James Balagizi, Owen Beck, Alisson Becker, Conor Bradley, Luke Chambers, Luis Díaz, Harvey Elliott, Melkamu Frauendorf, Lee Jonas, Diogo Jota, Isaac Mabaya, Kostas Tsimikas, ex-reds Rhian Brewster, Steven Caulker, Sadio Mané, Takumi Minamino, Xherdan Shaqiri and Luis Suárez, and future reds Wataru Endō and Alexis Mac Allister, with Steve Clarke and Rigobert Song both taking charge of their countries.