I´ve only just came back down from cloud nine, so the match report is late. Apologies. But ´kin ´ell, that was some game.
I have personally been an Evertonian for, oh, 28 years or so, with the vast majority of that etched on my mind like a canvas of neverending disappointment, blemished along the way by the likes of Mitch f***ing Ward et al, but it´s days like today that makes it all worth being a Toffee.
We´re born, not made, and it´s the pure emotion of a seemingly standard 2-1 win against a side from London that sums up that belief.
To the neutrals, this was a dramatic late comeback from a side that occasionally happens. Sure, it´s entertaining, but it happens, no big deal.
But for anyone who follows Everton, we know that this just doesn´t happen for us. We don´t turn around one goal defeats into a win inside 88 seconds, we just don´t.
The last time anything remotely like it happened. I believe it was when a certain Tomasz Radzinski bulletted one in against Southampton beards ago.
What makes this extra sweet is that it was on the back of so many draws and close calls that we should have converted into three points, yet today we arguably didn´t deserve anything – or at most, another point.
Spurs did themselves proud. Their rigid defence nullified a determined Pienaar completely, and Jelavic – after a bright few early moments – was swamped by the Tottenham backline for 90 minutes.
And when Clint Dempsey took a speculative effort from outside the box, deflected cruelly off the right leg of the outstretched Sylvain Distin, looping over the exposed Tim Howard and into the American´s left hand corner, then you could excuse even the most die hard Blue of thinking “here we go again”.
But it was not to be. Despite sorely missing the influence of Mirallas in the second half, and despite having penalty shouts turned away by Kevin Friend in the first half, Everton came on strong in the dying embers of the game, after initially being shellshocked after falling behind.
Did it look like we´d equalise? Absolutely not. With 89 minutes gone, a lot of Blues had turned away, looking to avoid the traffic issues around Goodison by escaping early and accepting the inevitable 1-0 loss.
But the men in Blue had other ideas. Coleman found space on the right, his attempted cross for Fellaini was dreadful, well behind the Belgian, but the ball continued on it´s trajectory and found the head of the onrushing little Steven Pienaar, who planted it beyond Hugo Lloris, who had been excellent all afternoon.
Cue Goodison delirium, tempered by the frustration of yet another draw, but a sigh of relief at avoiding defeat reverberated around Goodison.
But we weren´t done quite yet.
The ball is lofted in, Vellios tries the most ludicrous overhead kick imaginable, makes the slightest of contact and the ball runs through perfectly for Nikica Jelavic, who stabs a foot out and sends it beyond Lloris, before tearing off to the left, running to the stands of Goodison Park, who had erupted, hardly able to believe that for once, lady luck had smiled on Everton.
In a week were it has been discovered that we have bureaucrats behind the scenes of massive ineptitude, Everton have came out and displayed everything that is actually good with the club. That one was for Steve; that´s why you love the club mate.
Everton march on! We may or may not nail that Champion´s League squad, but let no one deny the spirit we have.
Everton (Pienaar, Jelavic) 2 Spurs (Dempsey) 1.