STUART McCALL'S contribution to FA Cup history was almost forgotten amid the emotional outpouring that followed the 1989 final.

Just weeks after the Hillsborough disaster that claimed the lives of 96 of their supporters, Liverpool had the goodwill of almost every neutral football fan behind them when they faced up to neighbours Everton in what turned out to be a classic cup encounter on a scorching day at Wembley.

McCall would prove to be one of the game's main protagonists, the midfielder emerging from the Everton substitutes bench around the hour mark to score late on and take the match into extra-time, then equalised for a second time late in the first period. That made him the first substitute to score twice in an FA Cup final but, within two minutes, Ian Rush had done the same, the Liverpool substitute netting his second to seal a memorable 3-2 victory for the red half of the city.

It has left McCall harbouring mixed emotions about how it all panned out. "I'd rather have not scored at all and had a winner's medal to show at the end of it the game, to be honest," the Motherwell manager told Herald Sport. "But for my family, friends and kids to look back on now, to say you scored twice at Wembley is nice for them.

"I didn't even know I was going to be on the bench until around quarter past 12 on the day of the game. We knew the starting XI on the Friday and there were four of us vying for two substitutes places. Thankfully [Everton manager] Colin Harvey told me just as I was walking back up to our room after the pre-match meal that I was going to be one of them.

"Once you get the nod, then your next focus is to try to get on. It was over 90ºF that day so there was always a chance the substitutes would be used. I was sent on around the hour mark with us 1-0 down and I ended up playing around an hour. I was desperate to make an impact so to score in the last minute to take us into extra-time was great.

"It was a terrific FA Cup clash and a great advert for football. Because of the Hillsborough disaster most neutrals worldwide wanted a Liverpool victory so a lot of people, apart from Evertonians, probably felt it was the right result in the end."

McCall's two goals could not have been more different. The first was scrambled in from a matter of yards, while his second was a glorious volley that arced past the outstretched arm of goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar.

"The first one I was deadly from about a yard in the closing seconds of normal time, and the second one was a bit further out and was quite a nice strike," said the Motherwell manager. "It was placed rather than power and thankfully it went in. We didn't have too long to enjoy it, though, as Rushy scored again about two minutes later. I had a chance to get a hat trick as well late in the game with a mazy run but it never came off for me. That would have been amazing."

McCall spent three seasons at Everton before signing for Rangers in 1991 and soon discovered the friendly derby banter he had experienced on Merseyside did not apply in Glasgow. "I probably went from the friendliest derby to the most heated derby when I moved from Everton to Rangers. On Merseyside the rivalry is still very strong but in the same families you can have half the family being red, and the other half being blue. When we travelled down to Wembley in 1989 we'd pass coaches on the motorway and there would be Liverpool colours on one side and Everton on the other. After the final Liverpool came back to the city to show off the trophy and both Liverpudlians and Evertonians were there together to welcome them. I couldn't see that happening in Glasgow."

Those same coaches will be bound for London again on Saturday when Everton and Liverpool meet at Wembley for the first time since that 1989 meeting, this time in the FA Cup semi-final. Success has been thin on the ground for the blue half of the city in recent times – their last trophy of note was the 1995 FA Cup – and McCall hopes manager Davie Moyes can finally get his hands on some silverware after a decade in charge.

"They got to the cup final a few years ago against Chelsea and missed out there, and had a chance of getting to the Champions League a few years back but lost in the qualifiers," he said. "I just hope Davie can take them back to Wembley this season and they lift the trophy as it's been a long wait for Everton. After the heady heights of the 1980s it's been difficult times for Evertonians.

"Liverpool have won the other cup this season but, relatively speaking, they've not had a load of success either in recent years. Both clubs will be desperate to lift the cup this year but I'm hoping Everton go on to do it."