12/11/2026
The 5-1 Lead That Finished 5-5
Hillsborough, 12 November 1904
On paper, it looked like a meeting of the two form teams in the country. Sheffield Wednesday were the reigning First Division champions, and had begun the season with seven straight wins before suffering three defeats. Everton were directly behind them in fourth, and had just hit five past Nottingham Forest, 5-1, the previous week.
Wednesday had problems before a ball was kicked. Keeper Jack Lydall was out with a foot injury, so reserve keeper Jarvis was making only his second outing for the club. With Harry Chapman injured, too, Vivian S. Simpson, the former Sheffield FC amateur, came in to deputise up front.
What followed in front of 12,000 at Hillsborough became one of the most extraordinary games in either club's history.
It started at full pace. With only two minutes gone, Sandy Young shot Everton ahead. Eight minutes later, little Harry Davis equalised for Wednesday, and soon afterwards Vivian Simpson claimed the ball had spun over the line, only for the referee to rule otherwise.
From there, Everton took over completely. Recovering from the temporary absence of Sam Ashworth, they turned on the style to lead 5-1 at half-time, with two goals from Jimmy Settle plus goals from Harold Hardman and Walter Abbott to add to Young's opener.
It was, incredibly, the second 5-1 lead Everton had held in a week.
The comeback
Wednesday did not start their recovery until the 63rd minute. Balmer tripped George Simpson in the box. Billy Scott saved Stewart's penalty, but Stewart recovered to slam the rebound in with Scott left stranded.
Then came the turning point. Scott had taken a heavy knock early on. In the 68th minute, as George Simpson pulled back another goal to make it 5-3, Scott was hurt attempting to stop it and could not continue. With no substitutes, Everton were forced to play with ten men.
Wednesday were now in command. Stewart rattled the post as the pressure built. With ten minutes left, Vivian S. Simpson pounced in a goalmouth scramble to make it 4-5.
The game then turned sour. Davis punched Hardman and the referee had no option but to send him off, leaving the teams at ten men each. It looked as though Everton would hang on, but with barely 30 seconds left, Bob Ferrier hammered the ball in following a lofted free kick. What a finish.
Wednesday scorers that day were:
• Harry Davis • Stewart • George Simpson • Vivian S. Simpson • Bob Ferrier Abbott goes in goal
With Scott off, the gloves went to someone already on the pitch. Brummie inside-left Walter Abbott had taken Scott's place between the sticks, but he proved unable to keep a resurgent Wednesday at bay, conceding twice, including the last-minute equaliser.
There was no reserve goalkeeper waiting on the bench to come on, because there was no bench at all in the modern sense. Substitutions during matches in the English Football League were not first permitted until the 1965-66 season, 61 years later. If a player was injured in 1904, he either played on or his team played short, and an outfield player had to go in goal. Abbott was that player.
It is a small, human detail that explains the whole collapse. Everton did not just lose their goalkeeper. They lost a man, lost their shape, and then lost a 5-1 lead to a champion side that refused to give in.
fans
