'The best bus trip of my life' - Traffic chaos helped inspire one of Everton's greatest away days

A dozen years ago today, Evertonians relished one of their greatest away days in modern history.

The Blues had been held to a 1-1 draw by Sunderland in their FA Cup quarter-final at Goodison Park 10 days earlier but with a huge travelling contingent roaring them on in their Stadium of Light replay on March 27, 2012, they secured a Wembley showdown against neighbours Liverpool.

In many ways, the slick display represented the culmination of a decade’s work for David Moyes who believed local police handed his side some extra pre-match motivation after they arrived late. The Blues’ journey from their hotel was severely delayed when the team coach got caught in heavy traffic and road works en route to the Stadium of Light. Everton pulled up at 7.08pm and needed a club media official to hand in their team sheet before the deadline, an hour before kick-off.

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Moyes wanted the Blues to leave for the game at 6pm while police felt it only necessary for the team bus to depart 10 minutes later. Eventually, they left just after 6pm yet still arrived later than planned. Had Everton left when the police suggested then Moyes’ preparations would have been thrown into greater chaos.

But the manager believed the rush gave his side an unexpected boost and helped them produce a bold performance to secure a place in the semi-final with Liverpool. He said: “It gave us a wee edge. They never got us here on time and I hear that’s quite regular up here.”

The ECHO’s Greg O’Keeffe also cited the team’s slow journey to the ground in his match report, stating: “Better late than never.