In 2022 and 2023, Everton stayed up by the skin of their teeth. But before those dark days, which ultimately produced some fantastic memories (even if for far from ideal reasons), there were two last-day survival encounters, way back in the 1990s. The first of those came against Wimbledon, in May 1994.
Everton trailed 2-0 to Wimbledon, but fought back to win 3-2 through a contentious Graham Stuart penalty, a Barry Horne stunner, and then another finish from Stuart.
Even though it wasn’t the winner, Horne’s strike has gone down in Everton folklore. A year on from the great escape, the Toffees were lifting the FA Cup — evidence of just how swiftly things can turn in football. And, speaking exclusively to ToffeeWeb as part of our Once a Blue Series, Barry Horne looked back on that career-defining moment.
“I do remember that the rallying call came from [the players],” he said.
“I think it’s fair to say the manager lost his way by that point and it was like, ‘well, we’re going to have to sort this out’. Which we knew anyway. We knew going into the game that that was going to be the case.
“It was just a very surreal day. Not a breath of wind, clear blue sky, beautiful day, no Park End. I remember driving in because I was always second in. I had real fear of ever being late, to be honest with you. Neville [Southall] was always in before me and I was always next. I remember driving in and it was just eerily, deathly quiet. Unlike three hours later when it was obviously Bedlam. And then 2-0 down, an own goal. Anders Limpar, the first time he’s ever been in his own penalty area, I think. I’ve no idea what he was doing there to handle that ball.
“And then of course he got us the penalty and that was the turning point. That was our way in. We went in 2-1 having just scored and the atmosphere was completely different. It’s a case of, we’re back in the game, we know we can do this. And it was just about getting it done and moving on really.”
Reflecting on his exquisite strike, Horne added: “I’m playing well and I’m confident. If that situation would have presented itself 12 months earlier, I would have controlled it, taken another touch, taken another touch and passed it to somebody. Because when you’re confident, you do things… almost like it bypasses your brain.
“You just do things instinctively. Any player will tell you that. When you’re not confident, you think about everything, you overthink things, and obviously you’re scared to try things.
“You don’t think this is what I’m going to do… You do it — and then you think about it later. And at that point, all I was thinking was, right, that’s it, but we need to get another goal. And if you look, after the goal, I’m not so much celebrating, I’m just saying, come on, let’s capitalise on this now because Goodison Park, it’s very rare that you can hear the crowd at moments like that, sort of blot it out.
“The Wimbledon players talk about the noise inside the stadium that day and how they’d never heard anything like it. It was a real thing. And as always, the fans played their part.”
So, what were the scenes like afterwards in the dressing room? Elation, celebration, or just a sense of relief?
“Just utter relief,” said Horne.
“Obviously, it was a moment that you look back on. I said immediately the week following, it wasn’t a celebration. There was nothing to celebrate. Being part of that team just about staying up was nothing to celebrate. But I did a good impression of somebody who was celebrating for the next two or three days, I can promise you.
“Yes, relief, relief, relief. We were so close. I can’t imagine how I’d be feeling sat here today, having been part of a team that was responsible for Everton getting relegated. In no way was it a celebration. It was just, we got away with it. And I remember people saying, we can’t let that happen again.”
Look out for the full interview with Barry Horne coming soon on Toffeeweb’s YouTube channel.
Read more — ToffeeWeb readers of old recall THAT game!