The empty seats told you everything you needed to know.
The lifeblood of Everton Football Club, the defining factor in the club's Premier League survival, have once again been superb over a six week period that has seen them clock up thousands of miles in pursuit of their true love. There have been difficult days among those weeks - the failures to register a shot on target across 180 minutes at Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United among them.
But throughout, the travelling Blues have backed their side. Spirit of the Blues lived on even as progress stuttered. Yet after 80 minutes of a south coast horror show Everton 's supporters began to leave the Vitality Stadium to the humiliation of their rival fans singing: "We want five." They deserved better. Far better.
The Premier League matters more than the Carabao Cup. Both can be important though and no club that has gone almost three decades without the taste of silverware can be complacent about opportunities to chase trophies. Frank Lampard said before the trip to Bournemouth that he was taking this competition seriously. Whether that was the case was open to debate when the starting line-up revealed 11 changes. Make no mistake, however. This might not have been Everton's strongest XI. But it was a side that should have been able to compete against a Bournemouth side that also made nine changes. Whether it be to earn a new contract, a greater role in the league, or to prove resilience after injury, every one of those given the privilege of starting in Royal Blue had a point to prove. This may not have been the starting eleven best-placed to send Everton through to the fourth round, but it was perhaps the eleven players within the squad for whom this game was the most important. Few covered themselves in glory.
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The night started badly and got worse. There was bad luck - this Everton side have their share of that. There was also self-destruction. Another frustrating theme. Too much space was conceded as the hosts attacked in the early minutes and the ball was spread to Jamal Lowe, whose shot looped agonisingly off James Garner and over the head of captain-for-the-night Asmir Begovic.
Everton then did what they have struggled to do so often in recent weeks - respond well to going behind. Minutes after conceding they should have been level when Abdoulaye Doucoure played Tom Davies through on goal. The midfielder fired over. Another glorious opportunity quickly followed. Ruben Vinagre, full of attacking intent, beat his man and stood an inviting cross to the back post where Yerry Mina, earning his first minutes since suffering an ankle injury in the first game of the campaign, headed into the ground but Anthony Gordon could only flick the rising ball over the bar. He then nearly got on the end of a ball from Nathan Patterson, one of few in Blue to put in a positive performance.
The intensity dropped as the first half came to a close but Everton were still in this tie when the sides went in at the break. That quickly changed when matters resumed. Begovic played the ball to Mason Holgate, also returning from long-term injury, only for the centre back to slip and fall. He could only watch in despair as Ryan Christie picked up the ball and crossed to Lowe, whose shot fell to Junior Stanislas at the back post.
Lampard had had enough. Just six minutes into the second half he made a triple substitution in which the fact he turned to three of Saturday's starting eleven - Alex Iwobi, Dwight McNeil and Demarai Gray - suggested he was either always intent on competing in this match and was calling in the rescue squad, or that he was worried the performance was becoming so poor he had no choice but to risk players he had wanted to rest in order to rescue some integrity.
That he had to turn to established players was a sign of how much Everton lost control of the narrative. When the line-ups were announced the positive line was the bench. It included the talented and in-form Under-21s Stanley Mills, Tom Cannon, Isaac Price and Reece Welch. Also there was Ishe Samuels-Smith. Had Everton taken their first half chances this story could so easily have been of the debut of the 16-year-old to become the youngest player to represent the first team. Instead it became about damage reputation.
The Blues threatened to get back into the game when Gray curled in from the edge of the box - a lifeline that, in truth, came against the run of play with Bournemouth forcing Begovic into two good saves and Lowe heading over a good chance to make it 3-0.
Any hope of a comeback lasted just 11 minutes. When Bournemouth's third finally did come it was too easy for the hosts, even if Everton were chasing the game. They cut through Everton's defence before the ball fell to Lowe, whose shot was well saved but fell into the path of Emiliano Marcondes. With the game lost, Mills and Cannon earned their introductions - Cannon getting his senior debut. Their first act was to watch as Everton suffered more bad luck. Patterson, who had earlier tussled with Jaidon Anthony as the Bournemouth player tried to prevent Everton from gathering momentum in search of an equaliser, was forced to watch after he slipped, lost the ball to Siriki Dembele and saw his nemesis finish for four.
Cue the chants of: "We want five." They may have been directed to the travelling support but by that point, the jeers were increasingly being received by empty seats.
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