Blue Belief

Everton 2 - 0 Chelsea

As Lyndon’s match report alludes to, we are unified in defiance. As a team and as a support base.

Nobody is moving us without a fight. And maybe he's not everyone’s first choice, but this manager has installed energy, defiance and fight in spades a-plenty, as the saying goes. It is on the pitch. It is on the terraces: Unity. We all witnessed it yesterday as we have done for several months.

I planned for an early train as I was meeting my brother in town. I was delayed by an hour. I met a very nice lady on the train. A much more experienced Evertontian than I. She was from Huddersfield and married an Evertonian over 50 years ago and has been following Everton ever since. Good conversation. I think she was sat in the Main Stand. I’m glad Barbara had a good day out. I did.

A few Chelsea supporters sat nearby. Interesting to hear them talking about Everton’s players. They didn’t sound confident and I have to admit, with the benefit of hindsight, they don’t look great in comparison to where they have been in recent years.

Fast forward and talking to a few other Chelsea supporters on the way back, we agreed it was a strange first half. It seemed very scrappy to me from both teams. They don’t seem to be a team in harmony.

We do.

I ended up running late so, by the time we met at Lime Street, we just went straight to Goodison after bumping into Stephen. Time for a swift one and time for my food from the usual. I only finished half of it and gave the rest of it to a homeless lad on the street. But then straight in. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was optimistic as always.

Pickford makes two important saves in the first half. Okay, some will argue he punched one back into the danger area and it was only because the Chelsea player fluffed his lines that we weren't a goal down. But he saved it, and that shot was hit at pace from a close distance, so he didn’t have time to think about it. Instinctive.

And that one when he somehow leapt like a gazelle to keep a nailed-on top-corner screamer out of the net was top-drawer stuff. If there is a save of the season, that has to be a contender. 

What I thought was interesting was that, for a lot of that second half, we had six players on the pitch under the age of 25. Make that seven if you count Dobbin's late cameo. And Calvert-Lewin is still only 26. A very young developing team in the making.

I got served at half-time for a change and back up in time to see Doucoure put his bullet into the net. It’s happening again. Just tell him not to come back into our half. Stay up there!

Onana did well. Patterson is going to get better. And Branthwaite’s.reading and anticipation of the game is beyond his years. Calvert-Lewin was brave but was left crumpled and hurt on the ground so couldn’t celebrate the goal that he enabled. The sad thing was, none of the players or supporters cared at the time and celebrated without him! I put that down to adrenalin and sheer blue emotion. I hope Dominic is okay given his recent injury challenges.

I don’t want to curse it but keep this up and win the appeal (even if partially) and with a quarter-final coming up, this has the makings of a 1983-84 parallel universe. I’m probably getting carried away, but I don’t care. I did then. I will now.

Met up again with my brother and nephew after the match at the Holy Trinity Statue. A quick one at the Brick and then back to Lime Street to meet my sister. We had planned to go to the St George’s Hall Christmas Market before catching our trains and my sister giving my nephew (her son) a lift home.

Plans changed as apparently I’m the only one who doesn’t feel the cold, certainty not after an Everton win, so we headed to a bar. I suggested the Crown, but my brother marched us past to one a couple of doors down. It was actually quite a smart place. I took the first available train back to London. It had been a long day as always. But always worth it. They always are.

I read the BBC report this morning. Absolutely delighted for Dobbin, but to give him Man of the Match is stretching it a bit! 

Take your pick. It has to be Mykolenko for me. McNeil in with a shout closely followed by Branthwaite and Pickford. Watching the highlights on Match of the Day 2 this morning and Micha Richards drooling over Branthwaite sort of pleased me, but talk of him going to the top is also starting to concern me. Let’s hope that’s with Everton and not at the Etihad.

Another fantastic afternoon and evening. Fantastic scenes at the end. Spirit of the Blues and Forever Everton resonating around the stadium. As always, I watched all of the players off the pitch.

We won’t win them all but keep up this level of commitment, desire and passion, and we’ll pick up enough points. We are going nowhere. For the Premier League, we are like a wasp that keeps coming back and won’t go away.  

As is customary, I slept most of the way back, although a couple of Chelsea supporters got a bit funny with me. I just offered to move and they backed down and said it was okay. We moved seats and they sat opposite me. We chatted for a bit before I went back to sleep.

Home and tired, but worth every hour and every pound and penny.

Anything is possible. just never ever stop believing in the Blues.

---

Reader Comments (15)

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer ()

---

How to get rid of these ads and support TW