Everton could not quite see out the game against Brentford as Vitaly Janelt's late equaliser rescued a point for the home side.
The Blues had been ahead for an hour when he prodded in after Keane Lewis-Potter flicked on a corner. While there were more positives to take from Everton's performance, a Brentford goal had felt likely as the hosts bombarded Jordan Pickford's box with crosses in the final stages of a match in which they hit the woodwork three times.
Now the dust has settled on the 1-1 draw, here are a few moments that may have been missed from the first of two away trips in the final days of the transfer window for Frank Lampard and his squad.
READ MORE: Two Anthony Gordon touches that told a story worth more than £45m for Everton
Nathan Patterson's last ditch heroics
Brentford's most promising moves in the first half came from counter attacks as they broke at speed after clearing their own box. The most threatening developed into a golden opportunity that saw the hosts with three players advancing on last man Nathan Patterson. Somehow, Patterson managed to not only block the first attempted pass designed to take him out of the game, but when that block fell to another attacker he snuffed out danger for a second time. Lampard was disappointed Brentford had managed to get into such a promising position, and work to better defend such transitions is underway, but it was a brilliant piece of last-ditch defending from Patterson.
James Tarkowski spraying balls across the pitch
Salomon Rondon, Everton's only available recognised first team striker, did not start against Brentford. This was because Lampard preferred to operate with mobility up top and wanted runners to exploit the space between the home defenders. This worked well when Conor Coady picked out Anthony Gordon with a ball over the top for Everton's goal. It was a tactic that was clear from the start and most vivid in the actions of Coady's partner James Tarkowski. Everton fans have already seen his ability on the ball in his short time as a Blue and it was on show again on Saturday, the centre back repeatedly switching play with cross-field balls to find Patterson in space. He pulled off three such passes in the first 10 minutes as he attempted to launch attacks.
A dugout clash after Brentford official flattened
There was an unfortunate moment in the second half when Gordon floored a member of the Brentford backroom staff. It sparked lots of pointing and raised voices across the two dugouts as players and match officials jumped into the action. Gordon was not among them - and was clearly keen to apologise to the man he had knocked to the ground. In reality, he had little control over what happened. Gordon was starting an Everton break after picking the ball up in his own half and knocking it beyond defender Ben Mee. As Gordon charged past, Mee gave him a little nudge that knocked him off course and his momentum was too great for him to be able to avoid running into the unfortunate staff member.
Some extra names on the Everton squad list
The transfer window must be a nightmare for officials in different departments across all football clubs. The admin and paperwork at their own club probably keeps them busy enough, so tracking the developments at opponents might just be a task too many. Brentford's matchday programme was full of quality - the front being a comic strip version of each of the four goals scored by the Bees against Manchester United recently. On the back page there were some names unlikely to be seen again in the programme lists the Blues feature in for the rest of this season. Dele Alli, who this week moved on loan to Besiktas, and Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Niels Nkounkou - who had their respective loan switches to Trabzonspor and Cardiff City announced in the hours before kick-off - all featured.
Away supporters make their presence felt
Everton's away support is so passionate that, while the incredible backing should not be taken for granted, it also comes as no surprise. The away end was in fine form again on Saturday and Spirit of the Blues was often the soundtrack to the game. But one unexpected bonus was the constant use of the White Stripes' Seven Nation Army by the hosts, including as the final song played before kick-off. While the home fans were vocal the use of the track spurred the travelling Blues into showing support for homegrown starlet Gordon amid speculation linking him to Chelsea. Their own 'Oh Anthony Gordon' chant is, coincidentally, sung to the tune of Seven Nation Army so its use simply provided the Blues with a backing track for their own body of work.
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