Late drama; never give in

Key to make good and beat Burnley to build a decent safety-net in view of any further points deductions.

As for the penalty, I thought Dominic was focused on it but I had my doubts, kept my eyes on it wishing it home, thought the keeper got a touch on it but it was hit with real power and was too strong for him.

I thought the subs changed the game, that first hour was woeful and I had given up when Newcastle scored their goal. In fact, I said to myself out loud “It's over.”

My wife, who hasn't got a clue about football and isn't interested apart from wanting Everton to win, said “Is it over? It's finished a bit early hasn't it?" I gave her one of those looks and said "No, it's not over, but it's 2-0 and that's us finished."

Luckily that lovely VAR (sometimes) saved our bacon and Ashley Young gave the referee no escape later on and made him consult one of our best players on the night, VAR (Vast Amount of Respect) and he gave the nod for that penalty which got us the draw.

I think Dyche needs a lot of respect for getting us 31 points with squad early in the season but, over the last few weeks, I've had my doubts. Maybe last night's game is a turning point for the rest of the season and we will finish where we want to be.

One thing the players could take a look at: our supporters last night and every game, they never gave up from start to finish — not for just the last 39 minutes — what a crowd!

Let's hope we can keep the momentum up for Burnley, where 3 points and a few goals would not go amiss.

You know me and that, like you, I am supportive of these players as long as they show they care. I can forgive lack of skill but not lack of heart nor effort.

Early in that match last night, I saw Onana barely walking towards a Newcastle attacker that he was closest to as they attacked our box. He strolled to his nominal position outside our box whilst Newcastle were behind our line.

I've said this before, he's not playing for the team, he's playing for his stats. I know he's a class player. I know he's probably the best footballer we have in our squad. But he's not playing for us and he's not what we need for these last 9 games.

Personally, I don't want to see him in the starting 11 for the rest of this season and, if he really expects one of the big boys to come in for him, then maybe he'll pull his finger out if he gets to come in as sub.

Harrison, Beto, Godfrey shouldn't start because they're not good enough. Onana shouldn't start because he doesn't give a shit!

One thing that L7L Row N gives, is that like the Top Balcony at The Old Lady, you get a very good overall perspective of the game. I cannot believe how narrow we play, pretty much all Newcastle had to do was aim the ball in the general direction of either wing and they were away.

Tarkowski is unbelievably slow both in his reactions and pace. He was totally at fault for their goal, getting caught massively out of position and then trying to head a ball going a couple of feet over his head.

Onana is, well, frankly I don't know what he is, but it certainly isn't a committed Everton midfielder, the lad needs a rocket under him. Too many times just jogging back having lost possession up the field and, in my view, while he has little passages where you think he is the best player we have, those bits are just too few and lead me to get hugely frustrated with him. Oh for a Bruno Guimaraes, who I thought was the stand-out player on the pitch.

I didn't go to Bournemouth but, if the performance was as bad as our first half last night, then I made a seriously good call.

Hope to see you on Saturday for more of the last 30 minutes. Although, as my friends pointed out, Newcastle had 11 of the first-team squad unavailable and still out-passed us and had substantially more possession than us.

Finally, what fantastic incredible support, I'm pretty sure that the non-stop noise from the heavens kept the team going. It would be great to replicate it at home.

I'll try and wrap up!!

Dave and Stephen, the supporters were immense. Before, during and after.

Spirit.

Mark, I know. We'll meet at Chelsea!!

Thanks, just thanks.

We are having a tough time at the moment but we will get through it once we stick together.

Overall, I think most of us were happy with the point, one we would certainly have taken when the ball hit the back of the net with only 2 minutes of the 90 left, even though the foul on Young occurred in the 84th minute. It was a blatant foul with the referee stood about 4 or 5 yards away, so why not give it and then let VAR confirm his decision which would have only taken a few seconds, and probably reduce that 9minutes added on time by about 3minutes?

I really thought the keeper had saved the penalty, as did Dave, but went ballistic when the ball did hit the back of the net! A great time to shut those Skunk Maggots up!

Walking down those steps also seemed to take an eternity, but at least you're not fighting for breathe or feel in the need for an oxygen tank at the bottom.

Upon leaving the stadium, there was no sign of any Skunk fans like there normally is, so you must have been out well before me. All I saw was a few police horses and loads of stewards. There was none of the usual slanging matches by the coaches either, which can sometimes be a notorious battlefield!

Danny, if you want, I can start a TW Fund giving page to buy you some weather protection clothing. Just let me know!

They're basically saying we're the little Sunderland alongside the massive all conquering Newcastle.

They've won fcuk all since the '50s and “even” the very team they tag us with have won more than them. Deluded fuckwits!

A good point. We will be fine.

That will have given them confidence.

Pickford was superb. He owed us after a very poor game vs Bournemouth.

I think we will survive, Barry, but I'm obviously still concerned about getting another deduction.

Hopefully we can beat Burnley, because I think besides a lack of creativity, the thing we are lacking right now is confidence, and the only way to change this is by starting to win a few games.

Newcastle people are generally lovely, as are scousers, but unfortunately people become odious when they start to believe their own hype.

Geordies are not the best supporters in the land and of course neither are Liverpool's.

That mantle will go to fans who have gone through many divisions of relegations and still support their side through thick and thin, without the media fawning over them.

I hope the Barcodes stick with Eddie Howe. He's a likable fellow.

You were labelled 'idiots' yesterday for travelling all that way expecting a result.

Well, you are idiots. All the logic you will normally apply to every other aspect of your lives goes out of the window where Everton are concerned..

God bless your illogical optimism. It`s fans like you who make me feel like we have half a chance.

Good to meet up as always. We didn't see any trouble outside either, agree about the police and stewards' presence though.

It felt like a win after being second-best for much of the match. I thought the game changed with a combination of the second goal (which seemed to lift us) and the subs. So good to see Dom get a goal at last and he took the penalty well when under huge pressure.

Maybe this result will bring some much-needed confidence.

Pickford handled the whole situation like a true pro and got on with the job at hand. I think the constant barrage of abuse worked against Newcastle in the end and they were stunned when we equalised. We gave their support a fair amount of flak when reminding them of what they have actually won –fuck all!

All-in-all, a good result and better performance in the last 30 minutes or so. Keep believing; we can do this.

UTFTs

It wasn't serious and cleared up quickly. A Newcastle friend of mine said its been happening a lot, but just a lot of young idiots thinking they are hard.

Me and my brother walked back to the station with Newcastle supporters and had a drink amongst them.

A couple of young idiots on the train, but they got off at Darlington.

I wanted to tell them to get their shoes of the seats, but my more sensible brother told me to leave it!!

The discussion about Garner’s best position is one that might run for some time. He is very much an all-purpose player capable of doing a job in several positions but perhaps not excelling in any particular one.

In recent matches in central midfield he has failed to reach the standards he set in the autumn. In our current set-up he is one of our very few players who can pose a goal threat in open play. Therefore I would like to see him pushing into the final third having more attempts on goal as he did last night.

The problem with that of course is the need for someone else to provide a consistent supply line through the midfield. We badly lack a creative player capable of dictating the play, carrying the ball and opening up opponents with a through pass. Gomes can be creative in short bursts. Using him as a substitute might be the best policy for the remaining weeks he is with us.

Rob (9) You were right about the number of steps. There are only 140 not 147. I ran up them in 65 seconds last night. My mate took ten minutes in the lift.

The location of the away fans at Newcastle has been an issue for many years. Henry Winter mentioned it in his match report for the Times. He asserted that finding an area closer to the pitch is one which the Premier League and Newcastle need to address. Well we know the Premier League are too busy deducting points from struggling clubs while Newcastle have no inclination to change given the advantages of sticking away supporters as far away from the action as they can. One for the new regulatory body, perhaps. I won’t be holding my breath.

I suppose we also have to remember that he is still relatively young like a few of our players right now.