Liverpool v Wolves, 31st October 1970

Brief highlights of the First Division match between Liverpool and Wolves at Anfield on 31st October 1970.

Wolves were in excellent form prior to their trip to Liverpool; a run of nine matches undefeated (stretching back to 1st September) including six consecutive victories revealed the collective quality of Bill McGarry's team. The traditional attacking strengths of Wolves was evident again throughout the 1970-71 season. Aided by the creativity of Dave Wagstaffe and Ken Hibbitt, striker Bobby Gould top-scored with 24 league and cup goals followed by Hugh Curran with 20 goals and Derek Dougan and midfielder Jim McCalliog with a total of 13 and 10 goals respectively for the season. It helped ensure a very impressive fourth placed finish at the end of the 70-71 campaign, this despite a generally porous defence.

A further measure of success for Wolves that season came in the form of a Texaco Cup victory over Hearts in a two-legged final; a 3-1 away win (with 2 goals from Hugh Curran) preceded a 1-0 defeat in front of over 28,000 spectators at Molineux.

For Liverpool, the season proved one of disappointment. A fifth placed finish in the league and defeat in the final of the FA Cup against Arsenal ensured that Bill Shankly's team would finish without a trophy for the fifth season in succession. Top scorer for Liverpool at season's end was Alun Evans with a total of 15 league and cup goals. Evans had been signed from Wolves two seasons previously for a then-record fee for a British teenager of £100,000. It's thought that Shankly signed Evans after a dominating performance at Anfield on 25th November 1967 and, perhaps, his subsequent display at Molineux later that season:    • Wolves v Liverpool, 2nd March 1968  

It was with a great degree of inevitability that, following his transfer to Liverpool, Evans scored against Wolves on his Molineux return; two goals, in fact, in a humiliating 6-0 defeat of Wolves on 28th September 1968. Evans would also find the target in this feisty televised 1970 encounter, originally broadcast by Granada TV with Gerald Sinstadt commentating.