They say it's the hope that kills you but tell that to the Everton fans who surrounded The Brick on County Road.
The atmosphere outside Goodison Park was electric this afternoon before the Blues’ survival clash with Bournemouth. It felt more like a cup final than what could have been Everton’s final game in the top flight in six decades.
A chorus of chants could be heard, celebrating past glory as Evertonians screamed at the top of their voices and blue smoke filled the air. It is hard to put into words the noise and feeling before the game. It was a testament to the unwavering support Evertonians have shown in a dark two years for the club.
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Sean Dyche's team must have heard the noise from outside the ground. It could have been heard from a mile away. People clambered onto the top of bus stops and climbed up street lamps to get a better view.
Arm in arm, friends, sons, fathers, mothers and daughters stood together as proud Evertonians.
The mood was summed up by a fan who spoke to the ECHO outside the ground. He said: “It is hard to put into words the scale of how I feel. It is not just a club. I grew up around here. It is everything and being in this position is just wrong. But there is no other club that could create an atmosphere like this.”
It’s true, there might not be another team in the country that could stand on the precipice of disaster and come out fighting like that. The narrow roads leading up to Goodison Park could not contain the throng of Evertonians and the crowd soon spilled onto the street.
At the start of the day, the Blues found themselves just two points from the drop and while they could have stayed up if other results went their way, a win would secure survival and fans knew that it was Everton's to lose.
Eventually, County Road was closed off by police as the street was filled with a sea of blue and white. The noise grew to a crescendo as kick-off drew closer. It just kept getting louder, more intense.
Everton fans have been here before, not just last season when Dominic Calvert Lewin’s later header saved the club from relegation against Crystal Palace. In 1998, the club only stayed in the Premier League on goal difference.
And once again when the club needed the fans to turn up, they came out in force. As the crowd slowly marched in procession toward the ground being guided by police.
Then silence, as tension-filled Goodison Park and the whistle was sounded at the start of the match. The mood inside The Winslow on Goodison Road mirrored that of the ground.
That was until Abdoulaye Doucoure’s stunning second-half strike sealed Everton’s survival. It was a moment that Evertonians will never forget and never want to relive.
As the final whistle blew people grabbed each other in relief while some sunk into chairs head in hands. The mood was more sombre after the match as fans left the ground and the adrenaline wore off.
Still, some fans chanted and sang their hearts out but most were just too tired after giving it everything for the club they love.
It is the hope that kills you but it was the ability of the Everton faithful to never give up- even when all seemed lost- that saved the club again today.
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