IF you scan through the highlights of the White Hot game online, in between the jinking runs from David Lee, the magnificent headers from John McGinlay and Andy Walker and Keith Branagan’s all-important saves, there is a fiery exchange between Tony Kelly and Liverpool’s Israel international striker Ronnie Rosenthal.

It was one that earned the Wanderers midfielder a yellow card from referee Ron Groves but, recalled the Scouse maestro of the night, an all-important sign that the FA Cup holders had lost their grip on the trophy.

“People ask me about that one all the time,” said Kelly, now assistant coach of the club’s successful Under-18s. “Put it this way, there was no way he was going to jump for that corner, because my hands were full.

“I got in a bit of trouble but that was worth it. You have to get that side of the game done because it put him off all night.

“It isn’t in the coaching handbook but I tell my kids, it’s part and parcel of the game. Little things here and there – maybe not that much – but it got us the result.”

Indeed, for all the stylish football that Kelly and Wanderers produced at the time, Bruce Rioch’s side were also well-versed in the darker arts.

And Kelly reckons the steely edge that saw them through that night at Anfield was honed on the training ground, where absolutely no-one was safe.

“We were honest with each other. Bruce Rioch and Colin Todd were excellent with us but we took care of things in that dressing room,” he said. “Phil Brown was the captain, the leader, and there were no big time Charlies. They weren’t allowed to be.

“We used to come off after games and there would be arguments and fights – but only because we cared so much. And Bruce loved that.

“He used to make sure we wore shin pads in training because no-one wanted to lose. It would be young lads versus old lads and there would be murder – you’d have people like Mark Patterson kicking lumps out of you.

“The games would finish 1-0, 1-1, 2-1. We’d play like we would on a Saturday.”

Like many, Kelly believes results like the White Hot game at Liverpool laid a foundation for the club’s push towards the Premier League and the Reebok era.

But for someone born and raised on Merseyside, the game took on extra significance.

“To go back to Anfield and win 2-0, it was indescribable,” he said. “My partner in crime, David Lee, was like Lionel Messi that night, he could have had seven goals.

“That was the best night ever. I’m an Evertonian but I made my career at Liverpool, so for a third division club to go and play like that was just amazing.

“I always say it was the footings for what we’ve got right now.

“The year later we went one better and got to the quarter-finals, my final season here, but then the lads pushed on to the Premier League.

“And people still talk about that now – kids that are too young to remember it.

“I watched it back with David Lee on the internet a few months back for the first time, but I don’t need to see it again – it’s right there in my memory. Every kick.”