There was effort, Oh, boy, was there effort, but the only level of football class was the goal, when Iwobi, yes, it was him, I'd cursed his selection, but it was him, who burst through, exchanged a brilliant one two with the much maligned Calvert-Lewin and then coolly placed his finish into the net.

In many ways we were outplayed, Pawson's poor refereeing added to our problems, but we fought. Hebraic, rather than Hellenistic, but for once we had the luck.

Some were better than others, but all gave their all. Begovic exuded confidence, Coleman defended with all he had and exhorted the others, Gordon's skill has steel and the crowd made it a bear pit.

My angina was making me breathless, but it was one of those matches which reminded me how I fell in love with Everton when Dave Hickson epitomised courage and effort.

Well done, but don't forget Lyndon's advice to find a little bit more football class, against better opponents, effort may not be enough.

I'm not sure the cup game is that relevant, and Lampard may be tempted to give his key performers a rest on Sunday. A semi-final at Wembley against City or Liverpool could shred our fragile confidence. I wouldn't be over upset if Palace won a tight game.

COYB.

I worry on a 2pm on a Sunday, it'll be as flat as a pancake. So we need the players to inspire the crowd as well.

Lampard needs to find a solution to our midfield because, it's been said a million times, 2 doesn't work for us. I'd like to see Iwobi tried as the furthest forward of a midfield 3. He seems more comfortable central and doesn't stop running. He's completely ineffective on the wing. Just a thought.

A trip to Wembley could be a confidence-booster for everyone associated with the club. Every side is beatable and we are close.

The trip to the 1984 Milk Cup Final ignited the rest of that season, leading to an FA Cup win. Trips to Wembley and winning cups is what it's all about!

I'm desperate for a big performance at the weekend and our fans deserve a day out at Wembley… COYB UTFT!!

Brilliant Lyndon, brilliant.

Suspect it will be Gomes. That will be okay against Burnley but he will be a disaster against West Ham and Man Utd, as he can't string two good games together.

As he often does, he looked solid in his brief time yesterday but we have seen this before. With whatever lurgy is going around the squad, it may be we only have a limited number of players available. COYB

Unless we start playing as a team, we are going to get our bottoms handed to us on a plate over the next few games.

The forwards are so far detached from the rest of the team, it's unreal.

What else would you want from reality entertainment?

Absolutely fantastic and a much needed 3 points. I'll take a smash and grab every game for the rest of the season now starting on Sunday!

Gomes over-plays and can't tackle. Davies and Delph are injured. Good to have Godfrey back at left-back, he's a good defender but offers little going forward.

I still can't believe we let Digne go (Mykelenko should have been bought as his back up, to give him time to develop).

Hopefully the 4-2-1-3 will continue with Gomes stepping up to Allan's role and the team spirit from last night will see us through.

The sending off was one of those decisions when viewed at normal speed was definitely a yellow, but looked much worse when slowed down. I can see why the card got upgraded to a straight red.

I suppose on the back of the non-handball VAR decision against Man City, the crowd are already predisposed to vent their fury at what seems like unfairness coming from Stockley Park, but taken in isolation, I thought the upgrading to a red seemed inevitable.

The biggest win for Everton was getting the crowd back onside after Wolves. Scarcely an empty seat despite the game going on something like 16-17 minutes longer. It sounded amazing in my front room. Wish I'd been in the ground for that one.

Although I thought Doucoure had another poor game once Allan went off he really grew in stature and started to have a real impact which he hadnt done much previously. Also whether it was a virus that kept Pickford out of the side or maybe Frank had heard about him getting wound up by Newcastle fans, the decision turned out well. I thought Begovic brought a calmness to the back 4 which gave them confidence, for me he starts the next game. Special mention for 2 men who have taken a lot of stick during their Everton careers Keane and Holgate, I thought they were magnificent and apart from a header from a corner from Wood other than that their forwards never created any problems thanks to Keane and Holgate. I think left back is Godreys best position the only one concern last night is when the Newcastle player picked the ball up just inside our half and out paced Godfrey who fell over trying to defend.

Again another top performance from Anthony Gordon who just gets better and better with every game. My only criticism is he doesnt shoot enough and the same can be said of Gray who so far hasnt played as well under Frank as he did under the previous manager.
At this stage of the reason results are far more important than performances and last nights game was so very important on so many fronts. Hopefully with DCL now back and ready to play irrespective of where he ends up playing next season, I want him to show why he is Englands understudy to Harry Kane and that was a great lay off for Iwobis goal. I admit I have slagged off iwobi loads of times and I think rightfully but last night he ran his socks off and at long last had the belief to play it to DCL then run into the box for the return and finished with a great finish. maybe just maybe that Frank can get the best out of him.

This seemed even better than Gray's late winner against the Gunners and Jag's late screamer against RS.

Talking of decisions how do RS get the weakest team left in the Euro draw ?

Our Everton

The manager has a major rebuilding job ahead of him in the summer but he certainly seems committed to the cause and with current player contracts running out there will be scope for new additions. He can at least make a start to putting a stamp on the way he wants us to play. It will take time but if we stay up were in chance going forward.

We have to avoid the drop!

The Red card has to be declared void. If not, it proves what a lot of us Blues feel, that EFC are definitely judged under different rules.

Now for a trip to the Palace and keep the momentum going. COYBs !!!

I think we should put the best team we can field on the pitch on Sunday, there is an international break after that and it would be great to go into it with a bit of confidence and a semi-final to look forward to.

Our destiny is still in our hands and I have more belief than a few days ago that we will climb out of this mess - surely we have to win at least a couple of away games this season and stop that rot! DCL looked good when he came on and it allowed us to move players further up the pitch knowing he had a good chance of winning the ball and holding it up, Richy tried hard but doesn't offfer anywhere near as much as he does when playing out on the left.

COYB!

Stuck here in Central Florida, I have become increasingly depressed these last few weeks but, when that goal went in, this 71-year-old screamed like a newborn baby, so loud I'm sure the whole neighborhood heard it.

A game which proved that hard work and determination can overcome a lack of quality and ability.

I can't fault the effort and commitment which has been lacking all too often this season, we need to see it in every game now.

Something has really got to be done about the standard of refereeing and the VAR application. It's unfair, incompetent and inconsistent and could cost Everton dearly at the end of the season

It would be interesting reading if the PL undertook an honest review of referee performances and VAR decisions in each game over the season and published their findings with a commitment to make changes. It will never happen of course but it can't be allowed to continue like this.

I know I can be accused of wearing blue-tinted glasses (and I make no apology for that) but it's happening every weekend all through the league.

What worries me is that we begin to accept this level of officialdom as the “norm” and things go from bad to worse.

Here is my theory - its to do with the formation. Playing 4231 the front 4 players are too isolated from the rest. If Coleman won the ball in midfield he would not have been able to lay it off to Iwobi as he would have been too far advanced. Options would have been to play a long ball forward or a pass to Iwobi’s feet but he would have his back to goal. In too many of these sorts of situations the play broke down.

Once down to 10 men we were forced to play 441. Coleman wins the ball in midfield, Iwobi is nearby for the simple pass and the rest is history.

With 11 men we had only 6 who were in a position to work the ball forward from the back. With 10 men we had 8 available. Hence the more joined up football.

In order for the original formation to have worked the three forward-supporting players would need to be sitting a lot closer to the defence until the ball is won and then moving up to support the lone striker when on attack.

Does this make any sense?

Now to get some consistency and learn from last night.

Shame about the latest amateur referee, to be in charge of our game, Everton, are getting no luck and very rough justice.

For me from next season, scrap Stockley Park, and new rules means all VAR decisions are done pitch side.

But if a referee with in 20 yards of the challenge can’t make a decision, then there’s serious question about the purpose of the match referee.

Now to beat Palace.

What an utterly corrupt league this is.

I wasn't impressed by Newcastle at all, their relative position in the table serving to illustrate how far we've fallen from our realistic level.

A below-par Calvert-Lewin cameo showed how their defence might fare against some of the better teams.

I'd be interested to hear the "Reasoning".

While you could argue the follow through contact and maybe that could take it down to a yellow, if it appeared on screen that Allan didn't pull back after knowing he wouldn't get the ball then that's just enough, I'm afraid to say.

Sorry Dave, I hate disagreeing with you. To my credit you weren't there when I read before posting.

It should not be a three-game suspension though. And seriously, not trying to wind anyone up here, I would rather it not have been called at all.

It shouldn't come into it but you just know that someone there would have also considered how it "Looked" if they'd admitted two mistakes to us in a couple of weeks - irrespective of the reality.

A proper 4-2-3-1 requires an exceptional two I think, and it's never really worked for us since Barry and Jimmy Mac. Allan and Doucoure showed early promise as a pair, but haven't delivered consistently. Don't think there's another one of our midfielders capable of playing it as a primary role. Delph pre-injuries maybe.

Without Mina fit, only other shape I think fits is the 4-3-3, but I think that'd only work with exceptional ball players at fullbacks to send some long balls forward to goal scoring wingers like the shite do. We don't have these players either. I think a 4-3-3 could work maybe with Rondon, Calvert-Lewin, and Richarlison as the front 3, so the forward lumping doesn't just rely on one Number 9 taking a kicking. I think those 3 together would be a nightmare, but Gordon is currently undroppable!

So, all waffle aside, 4-5-1 for me on Sunday please:

Begovic
Kenny Holgate Keane Godfrey
Gordon Gomes Iwobi Doucouré Richarlison
Calvert-Lewin

Gray, Rondon and Townsend from the bench if we end up chasing it.

Not Gomes please. Try Holgate in that role with Branthwaite in his back position?

Though born and bred very close to The Grand Old Lady, I have been living in Christchurch, New Zealand, for many years and I mainly rely on ToffeeWeb for the Blue's News and very grateful for it, My thanks go to you, Lyndon and Michael, for the site and thanks also to all the contributors for your offerings.

If I may I would especially thank Christine Foster, Danny O'Neill and Colin Glassar for their comments. I am on their wavelength and fully agree with what they say.

My thanks again, and God Bless the Team and all Evertonians.

Nice to know there's another Toffee in this neck of the woods – I live just south of you in Lincoln. I've bumped into a very few others but there are far too many of the red sort around. Hope you are keeping well and that the results pick up from here on!

I was thinking about the big drop, and after the first season in Div 2 I enjoyed the games what with Dave Hickson and John Willie Parker goal-scoring madmen and Tommy Eglington banging in 5 in one match.

I don't want that to happen again though. I want some trophies before I go to that big stadium in the sky!!! Take Care.

Bernie, thanks for the mention. Humbled sir.

I spent time in Christchurch. Well, the military base at Burnham to be precise, but got to spend some time in the city. It was a couple of years after the earthquakes. I'd read about the impact, but to see it first hand brought the scale of the damage home.

Regardless of how views and opinions may differ, it all relates back to the one thing that binds us together. Something I can't remember how I ended up being blessed with.

Everton. We just are and always will be.

Then again, we might just notice reds more because they're invariably louder.

Just thinking about Blues down this way - I've a vague memory that there used to be a Christchurch supporters club, perhaps called Bluesaders, years ago when the internet was new-ish. I've seen nothing about it for ages though.

Chris, I can't recall Christchurch having a Supporters Club, otherwise, I would have been a member.

You are right about the lack of Everton shirts. Plenty of other clubs but not ours. I did meet the Team though back in the 1980s and had my photo published in the Christchurch Star handcuffing two players together. I spent a couple of hours with Howard Kendall and the full Team telling anecdotes. Cosmic!!!

Gosh, I hope they beat the Palace COYB

I am doing okay, dreaded heart disease, too much butter on my toast when I was a kid! But doing ok, just have to keep on with the beta blockers. asprins and some other stuff for the rest of my days! Waikato hospital were very good, had a couple of procedures but came out the other end okay, not something I want to do again!

Thanks too for the kind mentions, I think I remarked the other day, that it must be about 17 years since I first posted on ToffeeWeb, it's been my one and only go-to place for all things Everton. I have moved around a lot over the years, this is my second spell in New Zealand, had 13 years in Rotorua before setting off for Brisbane for about the same amount of time before heading over to France for a few years... mum always called me a gypsy...

Back in the North Island now, after a brief spell in Richmond / Nelson, just a small place in Hawera I am doing up... its a long way from Goodison, I am determined to make it to the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock (I used to get my tyres from Metro Tyres opposite the dock gates).

Very much a Scotland Road girl, when I go home, it's like finding my own Tribe again!.
Stay safe and well Bernie!

As I have bionic hips and also a knee – plus a triple heart bypass – arthritis in hands and back and very hard of hearing (pardon?) and knowing how I felt after Thursday's match, I was concerned if you were put under stress.

I am originally a Walton boy then moved to Gingerbread Ormskirk in my youth. Three years in the Irish Guards then joined the Lancs Police. After 10 years, came to New Zealand in the Police, stationed in Christchurch, and lived here ever since with my wife Sheila and 3 children.

Of course we are empty nesters now and looking forward to our Diamond Wedding Anniversary in June (please God) . I just want us Evertonians to enjoy a trophy now before I join Dixie Dean and the rest of the Gang in that Stadium in the sky.

But I am pleased, love, that you are well – just wait until you are taking 12 tablets every morning!!! Tara Well