Mr Dennehy’s, the New York City pub where Everton supporters club EFC NYC gather to cheer on the Blues, has been voted “Best Soccer Bar in New York City” in an online competition run by Heineken and CBS New York:

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/heineken/?jsx2#/voting/

Mr Dennehy’s triumphed over 63 other bars in the six-round elimination tournament held over the course of World Cup 2014. In the final round the Irish pub in Greenwich Village defeated McHale’s 51st, a bar known for attracting Manchester United and Liverpool supporters, whose head bartender “displays a merciless loyalty to Liverpool.”

The final round of voting was a 4-day marathon that stretched from the World Cup semi-final on 9 July to the final on 13 July. EFC NYC fans rallied support on their Facebook group “NYC Evertonians”. Mr Dennehy’s held a steady lead through most of the voting period, but supporters awoke Sunday morning to find that McHale’s had taken a 55% to 45% lead overnight.

A group of Evertonians on Facebook got the word out to rally the troops and mount a comeback, and by a quarter past 10am Mr Dennehy's scored the equalizer. Shortly after half ten the Evertonians’ pub took the lead, and Mr. Dennehy’s charged to a 53% to 47% victory at full time at noon.

Supporters still had to endure a nerve-wracking wait for the official announcement of the result, since the website appeared to continue to accept and tally votes after the official deadline of noon. But the many hours of unsanctioned stoppage time did not count in the end, and Mr Dennehy’s was proclaimed the winner on Monday morning.

New York City Evertonians are looking forward to cheering on our Blues at our champion pub Mr Dennehy’s when the season kicks off in August. May this trophy be a harbinger of more to come for Everton this season!