As Ismaila Sarr hit the floor Abdoulaye Doucoure and Vitalii Mykolenko charged over to Jarrad Branthwaite to celebrate with him. This game was not yet over but Everton were starting to believe that, at the fifth time of asking, they would turn a lead into a victory.
Seconds later, in recognition of the centre back’s immense impact on his return to senior football after five months on the sidelines, the Gwladys Street erupted in a chant of: “There’s only one Jarrad Branthwaite.” He had stayed strong and forced Sarr out of play just as the winger looked set to punish a backline that had otherwise hesitated amid claims the Palace attacker was offside.
It was not Branthwaite’s first intervention. Earlier in the second half, as the away side threatened to counter, there was a deafening thud as the 22-year-old took Sarr and the ball on the halfway line. A deafening thud followed by a huge roar from the stands around him.
This was not the perfect performance from Everton. But it was the perfect ending to a near-perfect week. The return of the Friedkin Group to the negotiating table has the potential to remove the existential crisis this club has been troubled by for several difficult years. Branthwaite’s return was a step towards ending the defensive issues that have plagued the start to this season. And this comeback win ended a miserable winless start to an emotional league campaign. Finally Goodison Park has something to celebrate.
It had reason to celebrate following one of the most important half-times of Sean Dyche’s Everton career. Overrun by an Adam Wharton-inspired Palace and unable to defend set pieces, the Blues needed the break.
It came with the hosts already a goal down, lucky not to be further behind and with Dyche staring down the barrel of a fourth home defeat in the first five games of the historic, emotional goodbye to Goodison.The pressure would only have intensified with another failure on Saturday – particularly against a side that, like Everton, entered this game without a league win
