It was a goal that came from nothing but meant everything.
And how fitting that it came from Abdoulaye Doucoure, the player Sean Dyche brought in from the cold to inspire a team bereft of confidence and goals. Doucoure now has five of them, along with two assists - meaning the 30-year-old has contributed to more than one fifth of Everton’s goals this season in the 15 matches he has played since Dyche arrived with him training away from the first team.
This was by far the most important of a valuable collection and it came with his side desperately fighting for a goal that would take them out of the relegation zone. It was also his sweetest, the midfielder catching a half-volley from 20 yards out and rifling it past Mark Travers, who could only stand and watch in appreciation.
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It was the goal that saved Everton and it sparked celebrations so loud inside Goodison Park they could be heard on the other side of the River Mersey. A flurry of fireworks added to the cacophony.
It was just as fitting that the goal was inspired by a fanbase that somehow roused itself for one final battle dance after two seasons in which Everton’s supporters have proved more effective than anything this club has been able to muster on the pitch. With Leicester City winning and Everton labouring in desperation, the Blues were facing a doomsday scenario and appeared devoid of ideas, Dyche’s eleven looking every bit the patchwork of central midfielders, centre backs and wingers that poor recruitment and injuries had left him with. In the biggest game in Everton’s modern history a club that had spent more than half a billion pounds on transfers in the last seven years could field neither a full back nor a striker.
It mattered and then it didn’t matter. Just before the hour mark the crowd, which in a show of support had packed nearby County Road with so many fans before kick-off that police had to divert traffic, rallied into a chant of Spirit of the Blues so loud that many in the press box thought West Ham United had equalised. They had not. It was one last effort in support of the players and it worked. Moments later Doucoure struck and quiet Sunday afternoons in Wallasey were being interrupted by the sound of almost 40,000 Blues in Walton.
The final 30 minutes were filled with tension and anxiety but few moments of genuine concern - Jordan Pickford pushing away a late Matias Vina volley was the closest the visitors came to an equaliser.
And then it was over. The final whistle was blown on 10 months of stress and frustration and sleepless nightless and pointless league table-gazing. And finally there is an escape from this season.
It is over and Everton are still a top flight club. Goodison Park WILL still host elite football in what is expected to be its final full campaign next season.
How that was ever in doubt following the warning of last season is important and reflection, introspection and investigation must swiftly follow. However, following that Doucoure strike and this win over Bournemouth, the inquest can take place against the backdrop of preparations for Everton’s 70th consecutive campaign in the top tier.
The Blues, perhaps undeservedly, have been given a third chance.
