Jermaine Beckford’s solitary full season at Everton is perhaps best-remembered for his final goal against Chelsea but it’s netting against Liverpool in the Merseyside Derby at Anfield that the striker regards as the personal highlight he still thinks about on a daily basis over a decade on. Beckford, now 38, was snapped up by David Moyes on a Bosman-style free transfer in 2010 when his contract at then League One Leeds United expired.
A prolific scorer for the Yorkshire side in the third tier (netting 72 goals over the previous three seasons), he would ultimately score 10 times in 40 outings for Everton and while he enjoyed his length of the pitch solo strike against the west London club who let him go as a youngster, it was putting his side ahead across Stanley Park that the Ealing-born retired player most cherishes. Raul Meireles put Liverpool ahead on 29 minutes but after Sylvain Distin equalised just after the second half began, Beckford put the Blues 2-1 up on 52 minutes in a game that would finish 2-2 after Dirk Kuyt earned a share of the spoils with a 68 th minute penalty.
Beckford told Everton’s matchday programme the moment was the highlight of his time at the club and said: “It’s at the top! I loved it and I want to re-live it every single day.
