EVERTON 2 SOUTHAMPTON O...TEARS ARE FLOWING

THE party started some 10 minutes before the end.

- By JOE THOMAS

For 80 minutes, for days, for years, a fanbase had been building up to this moment. And they did not disappoint.

Emotions that had bubbled for an eternity burst in the hallowed stands of Goodison Park.

It began when Jordan Pickford pulled off a superb reflex save to deny Cameron Archer, a consolation that would have been a frustrating footnote to 133 years of football heritage.

Everton had been coasting to victory before England's number one kept Archer's close-range effort at bay and his latest act of heroism was the trigger for what followed.

Sensing the end was nigh, the Gwladys Street broke into a rendition of Z-Cars. The Park End responded with: “If you know your history.”

With that, the farewell had lift-off. Nearly 40,000 men, women and children ran through the classics - Spirit of the Blues, Goodison Gang, 'Super Kevin Campbell.

When referee Michael Oliver blew the final whistle it prompted heartfelt scenes.

Grown men wiped tears from their eyes, strangers hugged, commemorative scarves twirled in the early summer sunshine.

On the pitch, players embraced. David Moyes waved to the faithful in the Main Stand, TV camera crews chased down Pickford and match-winner Iliman Ndiaye, the departing Ashley Young took in the scenes of joy and heartache that surrounded him.

This was always more than a match. It was an occasion that was only barely about football.

Family and friends, past and present, lay at the forefront on this most special of days.

Goodison will still be here for years to come but it will exist in a different guise, with Everton Women writing the next chapter of history.

Generations of shared memories haunt this wonderful monument to the beautiful game and, for many, the final Premier League game was a sign-off on at least one stage of their own personal journey through Everton.

The magnitude of the occasion was inescapable throughout a remarkable send-off.