Neal Maupay delivered the cutting edge Goodison so desperately craves, to give Everton an important first Premier League victory.
And in doing so, the goal against West Ham for the £12m signing ended his own worrying drought, which has seen him go 12 matches without a goal in the top flight.
It was a brilliant second half strike that relieved the anxiety of the Blues faithful, who have seen Frank Lampard’s side produce some decent performances this season, without the points to match.
While Everton can now start to look more confidently upwards after a victory that takes them away from the relegation zone, The Hammers got into the international break firmly - and worryingly anchored in the bottom three.
The visitors will believe they did enough to get something from a contest that only ignited after the break, thanks to some brilliant work from the impressive Alex Iwobi, to fashion the first true opening of the game eight minutes into the second half.
He worked the ball well around the box and fed Maupay with a delightful pass, and the new signing responded in equally impressive fashion, with a stunning finish that left Lukasz Fabianski helpless.
It was the striker’s first Everton goal, and it was precisely what the contest needed. From stunted, fearful fare, we had an exciting, free flowing contest with chances at both ends.
The visitors had their chances. In fact, David Moyes must be wondering what his side must do to score in the Premier League. They have just three so far this season in seven games, and that is the story of their descent into the bottom three.
Jarrad Bowen had two good chances soon after the opening goal, but saw his attempts blocked, while substitute Said Benrahma came closest of all with a delicious curling left foot effort which crashed off the post and along the goal line.
Worse followed in the final fiery moments of a game which saw the flames stoked, with so much at stake. Moyes was bold in throwing on three attacking players, and Maxwel Cornet should have rewarded him.
Twice he was sent scuttling through, but on the first occasion after a great ball from Declan Rice he smashed his shot against the advancing keeper. It took a brilliant recovery tackle from Nathan Patterson to deny him in the 88th minute, but really, he needed too much time.
If that suggested the visitors were dominant, then Everton could so easily have extended their lead as - in such stark contrast to the dreary first half - the play exploded from end to end.
Iwobi curled a delicate shot just over the bar, and twice the lively Demarai Gray dived around the right side of the visiting defence to put perfect crosses into the box, without the requisite touch from his strikers.
The win Goodison craved still arrived though, despite those anxious final moments, lifting the Blues away from the relegation zone.
And with the solidity shown by Idrissa Gana Gueye on his first start since returning, suggests they now have foundations to build a better campaign than the relegation haunted efforts of last season.
Lampard has a resilient back line now, and with Maupay in this form and Dominic Calvert-Lewin finally fit again, he will believe his new look team are going in only one direction. Moyes, on the other hand, can’t say the same after a result that was far worse than the performance.
