There were still 15 minutes left when Jordan Pickford’s third goal landed in the net, but enough was enough. Solemnly this beautiful old stadium began to empty and you couldn’t help but feel that this was a reflection of the bigger picture.
Everton have five games left to maintain their status in the Premier League, but the mass exodus was the clearest indication yet: the locals, who have supported the team through all that misery, are finally broken. Unfortunately, the championship beckons.
Everything about Everton screamed relegation – the collapse of the second half, the appalling lack of quality and the disappearance of the battle on the pitch. They couldn’t lose by the end of the game, they were a disjointed mob and Newcastle couldn’t believe their luck.
Eddie Howe’s men had to hold their own at times, but as the locals poured out, they played with the confidence of a team that knows they are enthusiastically on their way to the Champions League: with 10 minutes left they would have beaten Everton so heavily as they beat Tottenham off.
What a year this has been for Howe and the same for Everton, but for entirely different reasons. This was an insult to those who stood by them week after week, invested money and emotion and got nothing in return. If the team played as well as the supporters behind them, they too would be dreaming of great European evenings. Not now.
It was a bleak night for Everton as they claimed nothing for their relegation battle
By contrast, Newcastle were at their marauding best and every inch of Champions League rivals seemed to be ahead of next season’s almost certain capture.
Sean Dyche has work to do as he prepares for an almighty fight to stay in the Premier League
To think that the night had started so challenging. The Everton coach was welcomed to the stadium with the kind of visceral intensity you would associate with Buenos Aires or Naples, with plumes of blue smoke rising from every corner of Goodison Road.
No ground in England exudes such a manic frenzy and, judging by some of the players’ faces as they stepped off the bus, it’s safe to deduce it took them by surprise. It shouldn’t have happened. It should have made them want to run through brick walls to ensure safety.
They started fiercely enough, chasing and pressing and trying to win the loose balls. Newcastle, on the other hand, were a bit slow, a long way from the cyclone that swept Tottenham into a vortex five days earlier and you felt they were going to be attacked.
However, one of Everton’s biggest problems is that they carry with them the threat of a toothless watchdog. They will never cling to opponents or run away from threat because they have no targets within their ranks and you struggle to see how that will suddenly change.
So this would always be fraught with danger. What would happen if the initial effort fizzled out? Could they stay calm enough to keep Newcastle at bay and not get sucked into the frustrating time wasting tactics Howe encourages.
The answer was no. Everton had a little sight of Nick Pope’s goal in the 18th minute, as Calvert-Lewin spun inside Fabian Schar but then lost his footing, but their first exit, just before the half hour mark, proved fatal.
In the blink of an eye, Newcastle darted to the left, Matt Targett thrusting Joelinton forward. The Brazilian appeared to be suffering from a hamstring problem and wore protective black tape on the back of his left leg, but that didn’t stop him turning into Ben Godfrey.
Callum Wilson’s opener came against the flow after an energetic start from the Toffees
A goal from Dominic Calvert-Lewin was disallowed before the break and that turned out to be an ominous sign
Jordan Pickford took matters into his own hands after thinking Sean Longstaff would stage an unnecessary show of Newcastle’s ‘black arts’
Out of nowhere, Joelinton cracked a drive that Jordan Pickford parried. The England goalkeeper needed some luck, but none came as Wilson batted in for Vitalii Mykolenko to score his fifth goal since the beginning of April. Bedlam in the distance, bewilderment among the locals.
How were they going to react? This wasn’t a matter of the players at first, it was more about the audience. The sight of the ball nestling into the net of Gwladys Street was as if someone had pressed a giant mute button, seizing the mounting sense of danger.
Eventually they regrouped and finished the half strongly, only the sharpest VAR decisions prevented Calvert-Lewin from scoring. It had millimeters in it, as tight as John Stones’ header against Arsenal. However, if things are not going well for you, these calls go the other way.
Jacob Murphy’s goal came after a great period of individual quality from Alexander Isak
Although Everton pulled one back, Dwight McNeil’s corner kick was quickly followed by another goal across the field.
Wilson’s sublime strike for the Magpies’ third caused the home fans to begin to leave
Newcastle looked as strong as they did against Tottenham, having cemented their position in third place
Goodison Park was almost empty when the referee blew the final whistle
To their credit, Everton didn’t hang their heads. They returned enthusiastically and the crowd was on fire and it led to one of those spells as the ball was kicked up the pitch quickly and regularly, in an attempt to cause confusion. Occasionally it works and a team, as Tottenham did, can melt.
However, this time there was something too chaotic about it. Pressure can lead to making strange decisions and seeing Michael Keane throw a cross high and wide, as if clearing his lines, or seeing Abdoulaye Doucoure fumble horribly at a ball he should have controlled, so much said.
And once Joelinton scored the decisive second, that was it. Everton collapsed and Newcastle turned the screw. Wilson doubled his score with a beautiful lob, while Jacob Murphy quickly rendered Dwight McNeil’s attempt from a corner insignificant.