Everton 1 - 0 Brentford

After the Chelsea mauling a few weeks ago, many were in numb shock fearing the worst. Once I reflected and gained my senses, I wasn’t. I believed we could do it. And we have, no matter what was in front of us, we have done. Always believe.

Fast forward and we are safe – subject to whatever the Premier League throws at us.

I still want a few more points in the bag to avert anything that those grey suits try to hit us with and the uncertainty of any potential takeover. That can wait. We have matches to win in front of us.

But what a relief at the end. I was motionless, observing and reflecting on everything I had witnessed, not just yesterday, but throughout this season.

Well, it was better having a not-so-early start than usual, but when will these endless late kick-offs end? I really feel for those having to travel from Merseyside and other distant places on a Friday evening. At least we appear to have ruined Sky’s “relegation derby”.

I had to make my way to the Hope Street Hotel to pick up tickets. Thank you as always, John and Mary, always appreciated. At least this time I knew where I was going and didn’t go to the Cathedral to stand there like a spare part!

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On to meet a few. I wasn’t feeling too good. A combination of catching a bug and being totally anxious about what we were heading into. Yes, me, the eternal optimist, feeling nervous. That all changed once I got into the stadium after meeting Graham to take our seats. I was pleased for Brian’s lad, over from Ireland, who got to see a win.

The magic of Goodison Park. The pre-match banners looked great draped over the Upper Gwladys Street. And I spotted the iconic green “Everton are Magic” flag, which I refer to as the Andy King flag!

Brentford are a good side and looked dangerous at times but, as the game went on, we started to take over, especially in the second half, but it wasn’t a done deal.

Pickford again made a couple of important saves and was good at coming to claim the ball. But I kept shouting for him to calm down and take his time. And stop punting it, sometimes straight back to his opposite number down the other end. But I don’t want to be too critical, he was an important player for us again.

Ben Godfrey worked incredibly hard. The centre-backs were immense.

Jimmy Garner and Idrissa ran themselves into the ground, as did Jack Harrison. It was great to see the players fighting for it.

Chermiti put a fabulous shift in. He earned his stripes getting battered by their defenders all through the match, but never gave in or stopped trying. I didn’t realise he is only 19 years old. Interesting prospect.

And credit to Ashley Young, who showed his experience. Some may not agree, but a close call for Man of the Match.

But that has to go to Idrissa Gana Gueye. I think he covered every part of the pitch and smashed in the winner. A nervous wait with the check, but I had no doubt it was a goal.

When the final whistle went, the lady next to me gave me a hug. She must have sensed my emotion as much as I experienced her entertaining language!!

I watched the interview with Tarkowski and Idrissa this morning. Tarkowski looked and sounded shattered. I’ve never heard Idrissa talk before, but he comes across as a very modest and humble person.

As well as the usual songs belting out at the end, one for Tony when they played a rendition of “We Shall Not Be Moved”! Our song!!

On to the Arkles and my sister picked me up. We went into town, had a few drinks in Ma Boyles and then she dropped me off to catch the last National Express to get me in for 6 am and take the boy dog out in the rain. He actually tried to refuse to soldier and step back into the house. Rhodesian Ridgebacks don’t like rain.

A special mention to the manager. He has kept these players focussed on what they need to do and protected them from what is going on around the club in difficult circumstances. He might not be everyone’s favourite, and at times the tactics can get frustrating, although we can play some decent stuff. He has earned my respect.

As nervous as this run-in has been, I always believed deep down we would do enough. And we have done.

On to Luton. Around 1,000 travelling blues present, only due to the size of the ground; otherwise, we could easily fill it.

On that note, respect to the Evertonians who packed that stadium last night. We took up most of the near 40,000 given that Brentford didn’t take the away section of the Bullens Road.


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