Andrew Johnson

IT’S AMAZING what one tackle, one goal and one point can do for a football club.

Quite honestly, a game against Manchester United was about as welcome as a late night phone call off Jonathon Ross, but the Blues turned a problem into an opportunity, shrugged off their first-half chasing and gave the fans the glimmer of hope that they’ve been looking for all season.

Even when the likes of Ryan Giggs and Dimitar Berbatov were moving the ball around so delightfully before the break, Everton’s defence looked far sturdier than it has done for some time. Tim Howard also looked infinitely more confident as he kept his old team-mates at bay with some excellent saves.

Still, it was only one point, and although the morale in the team and in the stands has been lifted immeasurably, the hard work has only just begun. Against Bolton tonight and Fulham on Saturday, David Moyes’s men have to show the same enthusiasm and defiance as they did in the face of the European champions. Because, make no bones about it, Gary Megson and Roy Hodgson will have seen the majority of our games this season and they will be telling their players that the Blues are still a soft touch.

It’s up to our players to prove them wrong, and that the performance in the second half on Saturday was the real Everton, not just the product of mass hysteria in the United ranks.