Labour leader councillor Joe Anderson drove to the game and shouted himself hoarse. He said: "Wembley had a fabulous atmosphere. The place was rammed with Everton fans. We completely outnumbered them.

"When Cahill missed the first penalty, I thought it wasn’t going to be our day, but you could just see the will among the players. You could see who wanted to win.

"The place was a carnival – lads in wigs, girls waving wands. It was fantastic. Now we’ve just got six weeks to get our voices back."

Fans who couldn’t make it to the match packed pubs across Merseyside.

Evertonians were dancing in the streets at The Brick pub, in County Road, Walton.

Barmaid Chantelle Cass said: "The atmosphere here was unbelievable. People were climbing onto the bins outside the pub to dance and they linked arms to jig around all the lampposts.

"I’ve never seen anything like it. It was brilliant."

Gary Heaney, landlord of The Royal Oak, in Walton Road, Kirkdale, said the pub was packed.

"It was a great atmosphere here. Everyone just stood up and rushed around madly."

Fan Katy-el Jones, 27, watched the match with fans at the Prenton Park pub, in Birkenhead.

She said: "Everyone was gutted when Cahill missed but when Howard saved the next penalty the place just erupted. People went ballistic.

"What a day to be a Blue."