18 mins Matt Ritchie's thumped clearance from left back dropped to Lucas Digne towards the middle of the field and he out-jumped Ayoze Perez to find Bernard ahead of him. The Brazilian's neat control and reverse pass set Digne away down the Everton left and his excellent cross allowed Dominic Calvert-Lewin to get ahead of Jamaal Lascelles to glance a header inside the far post. 0-1

(30 mins Matt Ritchie penalty saved)

32 mins In the aftermath of the penalty incident, the ball was pumped forward well into the home half and Calvert-Lewin beat Isaac Hayden to a header, leaving the Newcastle man on the floor with an apparent head injury.

Play continued with Bernard threading a pass through to Calvert-Lewin on the right of the United box and he had time and space to send over a cross that Lascelles headed out. Gomes won the tussle with Almiron before shrugging off Matt Ritchie and pinging a low ball across the six yard box. 

Martin Dubravka dived and got a hand to it, but succeeded only in placing it on the boot of the onrushing Richarlison, who poked it into the net from close range with Fabian Schar looking on.

The time between the penalty save and the goal was 71 seconds. 0-2

Half time: Magpies 0 Toffees 2

65 mins A fine backheel from Ritchie inside the United half robbed Bernard and set Isaac Hayden away down the right. He picked out Perez, who got between two defenders on the edge of the box to win a header that was directed back towards Rondon.

The Venezuelan then hesitated for a second before returning a pass to Perez, who had moved away from his marker. The Spaniard's next act was decisive; taking one touch with his right foot to make an angle before a superb flicked pass picked out Salomon Rondon, who had both feet off the ground when he memorably volleyed home at the Gallowgate End.  1-2

81 mins Florian Lejeune's upfield ball towards Rondon was met with a downward header from Curt Zouma that Hayden's first-time pass diverted into the path of Miguel Almiron. Taking one touch to steady himself, the Paraguayan then unleashed a fierce shot from 30 yards out that Jordan Pickford could only knock down with a two-handed parry above his head.

Following in was Ayoze Perez and when the ball appeared in front of him, he tucked it under the goalkeeper with a first-time effort from 10 yards out. As the scorer celebrated in front of the Strawberry Corner with his trademark fingers in ears alongside Paul Dummett and Almiron, Isaac Hayden appeared and urged his team mates to restart the game. He knew this wasn't over. 2-2

Jordan: the comeback

84 mins An aimless defensive header following a corner cost the Toffees dear as DeAndre Yedlin's miskick prompted Hayden's hopeful looped return into the box. Rondon reacted and cushioned the ball on his knee, allowing Ayoze Perez to crash in a volley from six yards and provoke further scenes of mass hysteria. TV Pictures later showed four or five United players, including Rondon, standing offside as Hayden played the ball back in. Good. 3-2

Full time: Magpies 3 Toffees 2

A tackle more suited to Twickenham than Gallowgate was punished by a penalty but bungling referee Lee Mason inexplicably chose not to show a card of either colour to Pickford despite his clear and deliberate action. In no sense could he claim to have been going for the ball. Cojones maybe.....

Inevitably the 'keeper saved Ritchie's poor spot kick and misfortune turned into disaster within seconds,  Everton going up the other end where some comedic defending saw them double their advantage through Richarlison amid scenes of fury both on and off the pitch.

A second half comeback seemed massively unlikely, although the missed penalty and a clear chance for Perez just before the interval could well have sent us in level. Paul Dummett replaced Lascelles for the second half as United reverted to a back four and worked the ball forward with greater urgency. 

Rondon came close on 56 minutes, beating the offside trap and poking a goalbound effort beyond the advancing 'keeper, only to see it skid agonisingly wide of the unattended Gallowgate net. TV pictures of this later revealed Pickford laughing and sticking his tongue out at the crowd, which prompted yet more verbal abuse of him - and support for the home side, which would prove vital.

There were 25 minutes left when a combination between Ritchie and Hayden provided the basis for Perez and Rondon to interact in devastating fashion, the latter volleying in to kickstart a comeback that was fuelled by a sense of injustice across both the field and the stands.

Kenedy and Jonjo Shelvey were added to the mix and Mason's decision to leave Pickford on the pitch ultimately worked in our favour, his presence keeping the crowd alive. That the blundering mackem's howler presented Perez with the chance to make it 2-2 was even sweeter of course.

A constant threat to the opposition all game (the benefit of staying on his feet rather than making amateurish attempts to win free kicks), Ayoze then completed the revival with six minutes remaining.

Pickford blocked Dummett's rising shot following a corner at the expense of another flag kick, the ball eventually ending up in front of goal, where Rondon teed it up for Perez to gleefully lash home and rattle windows in Gateshead.  

It seems so obvious that it's not worth mentioning, but Perez having some proper support up front in the shape of Rondon and Almiron has turned his career around. Even last season he gained some reward for the physical presence of Islam Slimani, albeit fleeting. The ball needs to be in the box.  

Five minutes of added time saw a crestfallen Toffees side fail to mount a serious response before Mason blew for full time to prompt another full-throated roar across Tyneside.

Huddersfield and Fulham are gone, but with Southampton and Cardiff both winning today, defeat here would have left Rafa's side anything but safe with eight games remaining. 

For 2018 read 2019: positive transfer window activity, a redoubling of efforts by the squad and a l resurgence of home form putting us well on the way to emulating their successful survival bid.

The prospect of contract talks between the club and the manager once relegation is mathematically avoided remains, but after three years it seems unlikely that the emotion of days like this will outweigh the reality of a club that continually and willfully inhibits itself. 

As our opponents showed, it's not just about chucking money at a problem. In Tosun and Walcott, Everton had £47m of assets sitting on the bench. At least Everton had those options though; our back-up to a striker loaned from a Championship club was Joselu. A failure to alter that mentality is what threatens to make Benitez go elsewhere, no matter how loud the songs of praise are.  

Biffa