Liverpool's 3-1 comeback victory over St-Étienne in the 1977 European Cup quarter-final is remembered by fans as the night Anfield's European love affair was born. The win set Liverpool on a path to their first European Cup triumph and, ultimately, six titles in the competition.
Historic night at Anfield
Since 1977, Liverpool have decorated their trophy cabinet with six European Cups, cementing the club's place among Europe's elite. While many historic nights at Anfield have followed since, it was one special evening in March 1977 that many fans feel kick-started it all.
After defeating Crusaders from Northern Ireland and Trabzonspor from Turkey, Liverpool found themselves in the quarter-finals of the 1977 European Cup [now known as the Champions League] and in with a chance of glory in Europe's most prestigious competition for the first time in their history. But first they would have to defeat French champions St-Étienne over a two-legged semi-final tie.
After a disappointing first leg performance, Liverpool came out 1-0 losers, leaving them with it all to do at Anfield two weeks later.
Fans recall the atmosphere
With anticipation reaching boiling point in the city as the second leg at Anfield approached, thousands turned up to Anfield in a bid to try and secure their place in the stands. One of those hoping to get in the ground that night was lifelong Liverpool fan Keith Lowey, now 78. He told the ECHO: "All you could hear is people saying, 'How many more in front of us? How many more? The turnstiles are still going.' Because there was a number of turnstiles that were taking people in. But the queue, it was sort of, if you moved a yard every couple of minutes, you thought, 'we're getting closer, we're getting closer here'."
After being one of the lucky ones to have made it into the stadium after hours of queuing, Keith recalled how there was a sense even before a ball had been kicked that something special might be brewing inside Anfield. He said: "The atmosphere was incredible. In them days, everybody was standing. The swaying of the crowd was just like watching a river swaying and swelling."
Match drama and a late winner
As the game got underway, after only two minutes a cross from Kevin Keegan found its way into the net to bring Liverpool level on aggregate. While the score remained unchanged for the remainder of the first half, Liverpool's hopes of progressing to the next round were dealt a serious blow in the 51st minute when an ambitious effort from outside the box from St-Étienne midfielder Dominique Bathenay beat Ray Clemence in the Reds' goal. With Liverpool now needing two goals to go through, Ray Kennedy offered a quick response in the 59th minute, but as the clock ticked closer to the 90 minute mark, Liverpool's hopes began to wane.
Now nearly 50 years later, The Farm frontman, Peter Hooton still has a vivid recollection of standing on the Kop that night. He said: "We'd been plugging away, so it was like another 24 minutes later [after Ray Kennedy had scored]. So, it was like real desperation stakes. But Ray Kennedy lobbed it over the defense, and Fairclough ran onto it, I was in the middle of the Kop sitting on the crash barrier, And when it (the third goal) went in, it was absolute mayhem."
"The atmosphere was electric, even though it wasn't the semi-final, you knew that if you beat Saint-Étienne in the quarters, there's a good chance you get through to the final. The atmosphere just increased, increased, increased, it became a crescendo."
"If you see any footage of it as the goals go in, the crowd sway forward, it was just an incredible feeling. As a youngster, I just felt like 'This is it. Thank God my dad brought me up a Liverpool fan.'"
Legacy of the night
Keith said: "You can't come down from that feeling. In recent years, at my age now, because I'm old, my excitement is still equally as high, but my reaction is nothing like it was. I mean, people didn't want to leave the ground. It was just euphoria. You felt like you were part of an army that had been successful in battle, and you were ready to move on to the next one."
Moving on to the "next one" was exactly what Liverpool did as they saw off FC Zürich in the semi-finals before being crowned European Champions for the first time after beating German side Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1 in the final.
While Keith and Peter have both gone on to witness many a famous night at Anfield in the decades that followed, St-Étienne will always be remembered as the night that ignited Liverpool's connection to the European cup. Keith said: "I've followed Liverpool 74 years, and the only occasion where the ground was like that was Inter Milan in 1965 after they'd won the cup, and Chelsea in 2005 when the ghost goal went in. They're the only other two occasions that came close to the atmosphere that night at Anfield."
"The kids these days think they go to a game that's noisy and the atmosphere is great. It was nothing like it was then."
