 ON that fine May evening no Liverpool supporter had any idea of the emotional roller-coaster that lay before them. All our confidence quickly evaporated as Maldini and Crespo ripped our hearts out. At half-time the fans' reaction was like a father trying to raise his son's spirits after hurting himself. You try to console him and tell him everything is going to be all right, but deep down you know it is going to scar. The team looked like they were in cardiac arrest as they trudged off but the supporters kept the faith and urged the players to make one last push in an unbelievable European run. The Milan fans must have believed that their Liverpool counterparts were insane, didn't they understand the concept of being humiliated with 45 minutes gone? Not long into the second half and Gerrard and Smicer had scored. Milan looked rattled, Liverpool looked buoyed. As everyone in the stands tried to draw breath, Gerrard surged through the box like a goal-seeking missile and won the penalty, sensationally dispatched by Xabi Alonso from the rebound to make it 3-3! What followed was a great advert for world peace as strangers of all shapes, sizes, colour and creed hugged each other in glee in the Liverpool end, and in many bars and clubs across Merseyside and around the world. There was not to be a dramatic winner in extra time, although Jerzy Dudek's double save from Shevchenko was almost too much for some people who just closed their eyes and prayed for the best. And so it was Shevchenko, one of the most feared predators in football that stepped up and missed the spot-kick that handed the prize to LFC. Unbridled joy ensued as we celebrated the most unlikely comeback of all time. Photographers on duty that night are forever in our debt for capturing this piece of history that can thankfully be relived over and over and over again. After a long sabbatical from the European Cup finals, Liverpool FC and the supporters had announced their return in style. That night all thoughts of getting home were shelved as Reds that were fortunate enough to remember the '84 victory and those that sadly weren't, basked in the glory. | 
