Everton’s participation in the Sydney Super Cup will see the Blues playing overseas friendlies during the season for the first time in 25 years as they make their fourth trip to Australia. Following their 3-0 defeat at Bournemouth last Saturday, Frank Lampard’s side will not resume Premier League action until Boxing Day when they host bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers due to a break because of the World Cup finals in Qatar.
The Blues will be filling the void with a lucrative invitation to compete in the inaugural edition of a tournament called the Sydney Super Cup. Local A-League sides Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers will also take part alongside Celtic with Everton taking the place of the Scottish champions’ Old Firm rivals Rangers who withdrew from the mini tournament back in July.
Everton open with a game against Celtic at the 83,500 capacity Accor Stadium – built for the 2000 Olympic Games – on Sunday. They then face West Sydney Wanderers at their CommBank Stadium home, which holds 30,000, next Wednesday.
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The Blues have gone ‘Down Under’ on three previous occasions, the first of which was a bumper eight game tour in 1964 which lasted a month. Considering manager Harry Catterick’s well-documented reservations about European football, it was curious his side embarked on such a venture but three years earlier they had made another long haul trek to North America which was even more protracted, consisting of four transatlantic flights, with their initial seven fixtures starting almost a month after their domestic season finished followed by another six-week wait and return home before coming back for the two-legged final.
Compared to the 1961 ‘International Soccer League’, in which Everton finished runners-up after losing 9-2 on aggregate to Czech side Dukla Prague, their first ever visit to Australia probably seemed straightforward then despite the vast distances of travel involved. The ECHO headlined the trip as ‘Around the world in 37 days’ on the day of the Blues’ return on June 1.
Michael Charters wrote: “The Everton party are due back at Liverpool Airport, Speke, this evening to complete their round-the-world flight which they started five weeks ago. They flew out via the Middle East, India, the Far East and then to Australia, returning across the Pacific to Vancouver, then taking the North Pole route to Prestwick, and on to Speke.
“Their football successes have been as comprehensive as their travelling, for they won all their eight-match programme to the tune of 50 goals for and only seven against. The full results were: 4-1 v New South Wales; 5-0 v Queensland; 8-2 v Australia; 3-0 v South Australia; 5-1 v Australia; 14-1 v Western Australia; 3-1 v Victoria; 8-1 v Northern New South Wales.
“These victories were achieved without a recognised centre-forward with Fred Pickering on the England tour and Alex Young languishing at home. Jimmy Gabriel, Derek Temple and Barry Rees have all held the No.9 spot in various games.
“Although the poor quality of the opposition must be taken into consideration, there is no doubt from letters received at this office from former Merseyside football followers now in Australia that Everton were impressive in all their games. Attendances at the match were the highest ever for any touring side over there, and the Australian Football Federation has made a handsome profit. Everton’s displays have helped encourage the growth of the game in Australia and for that reason alone, their tour has been one of the most successful the club has ever had.”
Indeed, one of those aforementioned letters came from Harold Blakeman who was originally from Bootle but had moved to Melbourne. He wrote to the ECHO to thanks Everton for their wonderful displays in Australia which “lifted the hearts of thousands of migrants who are lovers of the game” and remarked: “Some years before the war, I played for Waterloo and Crosby Boys against Liverpool Boys and Bolton Boys, the latter team included the great Tommy Lawton. We were hopelessly licked and I suppose that is why my heart went out to the Australian side which Everton completely overran.”
When the Blues next ventured to the Antipodes in 1987 it was as League Champions. Their first two games were in New Zealand with the tour starting with a 3-0 victory over a regional select Canterbury XI in front of 8,000 fans at Christchurch’s Queen Elizabeth II Park as Trevor Steven (3); Derek Mountfield (11), who was playing as centre-forward; and Adrian Heath (89) netting.
A crowd of 16,357 at the Mount Smart Stadium saw Auckland XI beaten 2-1 on June 1 as Dave Watson put Everton ahead on seven minutes before Keith Mackay equalised for the Kiwis on 32 minutes. Steven grabbed the winner for the visitors some four minutes later.
The team then moved on to Melbourne on June 4 for what proved to be the final match of Howard Kendall’s first spell in charge before his move to Athletic Bilbao. More than 20,000 spectators crammed into Olympic Park to watch the Australian national team defeat Everton 4-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Centre-back Robbie Dunn headed the Socceroos ahead on 47 minutes but the Blues drew level through Heath on 75 minutes. With a trophy and 10,000 Australian dollars prize money up for grabs, the contest was decided by spot-kicks and while Steven – who scored 23 out of 26 in competitive matches for the club – found the net, both Heath and Alan Harper saw their efforts saved.
The success for the hosts over the English title winners prompted Victorian Soccer Federation chairman Jack Reilly to declare Australia as “equal to anything in the world.” However, Kendall, who would quit as Blues boss just a fortnight later, lamented: “We’re no good at penalties. This is not the first time we’ve been eliminated in that way. Australia are a well organised team and they closed us down too often.”
Everton’s most-recent trip to Australia saw David Moyes’ side complete a hat-trick of successes. Sporting their new ‘lightning pink’ away kit for the first time, they defeated Sydney FC 1-0 in front of 40,446 at the same venue they will open this year’s trip with Victor Anichebe grabbing the only goal in the opening minute of the second half.
The Blues then defeated Melbourne Heart – now Melbourne City after being purchased in 2014 by City Football Group that also owns Manchester City – 2-0 on July 14 with goals from Jack Rodwell (34) and Louis Saha (61) with the latter making up for missing a penalty in the first minute. Their final match saw them overcome Brisbane Roar 2-1 on July 17 with Rodwell netting again on 49 minutes and although New Zealand international Kota Barbarouses levelled on 66 minutes to end their hopes of three straight clean sheets, new signing Magaye Gueye grabbed the winner seven minutes from the end.
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