Blue smoke has clouded vision and choked throats for two trying seasons - sometimes in hope, sometimes in desperation but rarely in celebration.
On the south coast, against all the odds and with Everton seemingly clinging onto the failure of others as the best route to Premier League survival, that all changed.
After Abdoulaye Doucoure put the Blues ahead after fewer than 40 seconds the raucous celebrations that followed were still tinged with the fear of the pressure and nerves that would likely follow over the next 89 minutes.
