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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Hannah Pinnock & Josh Holland

'I've never felt' - Seamus Coleman praises pre-match support after Everton win

Everton defender Seamus Coleman says if the pre-match scenes at Goodison Park didn't touch you as a player, then you 'may as well hang up your boots'.

The Blues earned a crucial 1-0 win over Frank Lampard's former club Chelsea to keep the relegation fight in their hands heading into the final few games of the season. They currently sit 18th in the table on 32 points, but have a game in hand over Leeds United and Burnley on 34 points.

Richarlison's second half strike and a sensational series of saves from Jordan Pickford proved to be enough against the London club. But the performance followed fantastic pre-match scenes of thousands of Everton supporters greeting the team bus ahead of kick off.

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Captain Coleman admitted after the game the support from fans gave them that little bit extra to get the important result.

He told Sky Sports post match: "I’ll be honest, I’ve been here a long time and never been in this situation before, but I’ve also never felt what I felt coming into the stadium today. The flares, the genuine passion, grown men's faces when they were singing the Everton songs.

"If that doesn’t touch something with you as players, then you may as well hang up your boots. We definitely got an extra few percent and we've done that for them today because we know how they're hurting.

"We’ve got to keep going and keep battling."

The 33-year-old also praised teammate Pickford for his sensational saves to keep the scoreline at 1-0. The England goalkeeper denied Chelsea skipper Cesar Azpilicueta before making another stop to keep out an effort from Antonio Rudiger from close range.

Coleman added: " That save when he’s came off the line is world class. We see that a daily basis. There’s a reason he’s England’s number one. Some of the saves were world class."

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