Top flight* League fixture
*Then known as Division One

Notts County 1     Liverpool 2
Johnson 42                                             Rosenthal 70
                                                              Walters (pen) 88
 

Attendance:- 16,051
Referee:- A. N. Buksh (London)
Weather:- Bright sunshine, hot
 

Notts County
Colours:- Black & white striped shirts, Black shorts, Black socks
League Position:- before match 5th/22, after match 12th/22
Manager:- Neil Warnock

1.   Steve Cherry
2.   Charlie Palmer
3.   Alan Paris
4.   Craig Short
5.   Dean Yates
6.   Mark Draper
7.   Dean Thomas
8.   Phil Turner
9.   Richard Dryden
10. Kevin Bartlett *
11. Tommy Johnson

Sub: Dave Regis *84
Other sub not used
 

Liverpool
Colours:- All Red
League Position:- before match 4th/22, after match 2nd/22
Manager:- Graeme Souness

1.   Bruce Grobbelaar
2.   Gary Ablett
3.   David Burrows
4.   Steve Nicol
5.   Mike Marsh
6.   Nick Tanner
7.   Dean Saunders
8.   Ray Houghton
9.   Steve McManaman
10. Mark Walters
11. Steve Harkness *

Sub: Ronnie Rosenthal *63
Other sub not used

Video of the match:- Recorded by Central TV for goal reports on both BBC and ITV's Saturday night national news bulletins as well as regional news and sport programmes.
 

Nottingham Evening Post Report

THE REF INVITED ME - SOUNESS
BUT WARNOCK INSISTS WINNER WAS NOT FAIR
By David Stapleton

DISAPPOINTED Liverpool manager Graeme Souness this afternoon hit back at Notts County's Neil Warnock, saying he was out of order in alleging he had "won the match" for Liverpool with a half-time outburst to referee Alf Buksh at Meadow Lane on Saturday.
Said Souness: "The comments took away all the credit my young team deserved for the victory," He went on: "I asked the referee at half-time why he hadn't given us a penalty and he said he would discuss it in his room. I emphasise that he invited me to go there and, having explained his point of view, I fully accepted it, especially when my player Mark Walters told me the incident was six of one and half-a-dozen of the other. Even Neil Wamock must admit that the late incident which produced a penalty was a clear case of one and had nothing to do with what had happened before. I'm very disappointed with him."

But Warnock, who had accused Souness of "putting enormous pressure" on the referee, stuck to his view over the match-winning penalty. "It looked like one when I first switched on the video. But when I slowed it down there was no question of Dean Thomas touching their player." London referee Mr Buksh said that he called Souness into his dressing-room "in a bid to calm him down. He had carried on ranting and raving at the interval and there was no way I was going to have a confrontation. So I explained my decision to him and it seemed to take the heat out of the situation."
Souness, who was banned from the touchline in Scotland because of his excitable behaviour, had jumped on to the pitch near the end of the first-half when his side had a penalty appeal rejected. Two minutes from the end the referee gave Liverpool the penalty which brought them a 2-1 win. Warnock said that he had expected a penalty to be awarded against his side. He went on: "I told Graeme afterwards that he'd won the game at half-time, but he just smiled. Clubs like Notts County don't get the rub of the green. Perhaps, if we had 40,000 crowds every home match the situation would change."

Warnock insisted that Ronny Rosenthal had “clearly dived for the penalty - my lads said so. Dean Thomas, who was supposed to have brought him down, assured me he went for the ball and connected with it.” Warnock complained that his central defender Craig Short was “booked for time-wasting, for running away with the ball ten yards. I couldn't see the difference between that and Liverpool's Dean Saunders stopping my goalkeeper from making a quick clearance. But in Craig Short we had a player who was head and shoulders our best and we gave Liverpool a game. Credit to Graeme Souness for getting his team to work as they did. It's not easy coming to Meadow Lane. They will be there or thereabouts for the title, particularly when you think they have five internationals to come back."

Souness said he was delighted that his young players never "allowed their frustration to affect them" after Walters was denied the first-half penalty, when he went down in the box under challenge from Richard Dryden and Alan Paris. Liverpool players protested at the time of the incident and on the half-time whistle they surrounded the referee.

'DESERVED'
Souness added: "I thought we deserved to win in the end. Notts County is an awkward place for anyone to come, given their style of play. If you didn't know many of my side were boys you would never have guessed it the way they handled themselves. I was more pleased than the previous Saturday when we won 3-1 over our derby rivals Everton. The difference was we had to come from behind; show what we are made of."

Meanwhile, Tommy Johnson goes into tomorrow's Enland under-21 match against Germany at Scunthorpe to a stinging rebuke from Wamock. The 20-year-old Geordie scored with a magnificent shot in Saturday’s brave 2-1 defeat to Liverpool - his fourth in seven First Division games - but it failed to appease his manager. Said Warnock: “Tommy’s goal was his last kick of the game. I was very disappointed with him.” County’s other England representative, midfielder Mark Draper, did not escape criticism. “He can play a lot better,” said Warnock.
 

Up the Maggies footnote:
Liverpool were without Ian Rush, John Barnes, Ronnie Whelan and Barry Venison, but were still fielding a multi-million pound 11 against a side consisting of players who (aside from Alan Paris) had all been plying their trade in the third division or lower just 18 months earlier. Kevin Bartlett had two good efforts at goal in the first half (one of which hit the post), before Liverpool got on top. But it was Notts who took the lead when a Draper free kick found Tommy Johnson, his low bending drive flew wide of Grobbelaar into the far side of the Meadow Lane end net. Liverpool dominated the 2nd half but could not find a way through until Ronnie Rosenthal came off the bench, his bicycle kick levelled the score at 1-1 and then, with just 2 minutes to go, fell over Dean Thomas in the penalty area and Walters converted the spot kick. Liverpool's no.6 was the same Nick Tanner who had been at the centre of a violent clash with Bristol Rovers in September 1987 that saw Notts reduced to nine men.
 

Notts County Season 1991/92
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