I said it and Everton did it, finally winning again at Goodison Park as the Toffees beat Wolves 1-0 through a revitalised Richarlison.
The Brazilian has had a pretty wretched season but last night he was probably the best Everton player on the park and his strong second half header proved enough for the victory.
This was a big win because after Sunday’s awful effort against Sheffield United the returning fans deserved a proper response from these players.
The presence of those supporters almost certainly helped last night’s performance and gives some hope and cause for optimism that the team can turn around this campaign’s dreadful home form, next season.
It was in truth though another nervy performance overall against Wolves especially in the first half when the Blues were definately second best for most of that period. And the home team had Jordan Pickford to thank for keeping it at 0-0 with two smart saves.
The team again struggled to get going properly and the Midlanders had the majority of the ball although without really creating too many other clear-cut opportunities.
Everton again didn’t have their main creative threat in James Rodriguez who didn’t make it into the team with ‘fatigue’ and so Carlo Ancelotti went with a front two of Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin up front and it was the Brazilian who was the greatest threat.
More from Prince Rupert's Tower
- Everton 0 Arsenal 1: Blues fall to third home defeat
- Further chaos in Everton takeover as other lenders not keen on 777 Partners
- Everton need repeat of Arsenal win to kick-start their season on Sunday
- More madness at Everton as Moshiri now agrees to sell club to 777 Partners
- Everton takeover talk cools after UK govt doubts and further questions
Soon after halftime it was Richarlison who got the breakthrough. Following a corner he rose to head home and give the Toffees a vital lead.
The Blues were much better in the second half and while Wolves had a few other chances they didn’t look like scoring really, although Adama Traore was always dangerous.
Late on Everton were on top and created a few more chances to add to their one goal lead but in the end one was enough to take the points and give the Toffees their first win since beating Southampton back in March.
So a victory to end the season at Goodison Park and something for long-suffering Evertonians to take from what has been a strange and confusing campaign. There are still a lot of issues to address and a lot of work to do in the summer, but at least they managed a win to finish at home.
Everton complete their fixtures at the Etihad Stadium against Manchester City on Sunday and still have a very slim outside chance of European football if they win and other results go their way. That’s a very big if!
But regardless, let’s at least hope the team can complete the season on a high before another very big summer in the transfer window.