Royal Blue: Why home tie holds key for Everton FC in Europa League clash with Dynamo KievPhil Kirkbride on the Blues' Europa League clash with Kiev, the Everton players' reaction to Liverpool's exit and Young Boys fans
BSC Young Boys v Everton - UEFA Europa League Second Round First Leg - Stade de Suisse, Bern, Switzerland
In a season where their faith and optimism has been stretched to breaking point, it may be pushing it to issue a rallying cry.
But when Dynamo Kiev roll into town next month for the first leg of the Europa League last 16 clash, the Blues will need their supporters more than ever.
As the news filtered through from Nyon yesterday that Everton would face the Ukrainian side it became clear that the tie could well be won or lost at Goodison.
Roberto Martinez wanted the second leg to be at the Old Lady but, instead, Everton face Dynamo in their back yard on March 19.
At NSC Olimpiyskiy this season, the Ukrainian Premier League leaders are unbeaten.
Eleven wins and three draws in the league have been backed up by four wins in the Europa League at home.
They are, to put it mildly, formidable on their own patch.
And where Everton tore through Young Boys’ winning European record last week, Kiev’s stronghold looks like being harder to crack.
Kiev favour a 4-3-3 formation and have an abundance of attacking talent.
Andriy Yarmolenko, Miguel Veloso and Younes Belhanda are just three of the names that Martinez reeled off yesterday and players who helped Dynamo score 10 times at home in the competition.
But away from home, Sergey Rebrov’s side have shown chinks in their armour.
Defeats away to Aalborg and Guingamp, hardly European heavyweights, offers hope that they do not travel quite as well.
A trip to a raucous Goodison on March 12 may not appeal either.
Or, more to the point, it cannot be allowed to.
Cheer has been in short supply at home this season but if both Everton and their fans are on song, it is a combination Kiev will struggle to handle.
“A lot of European teams won’t like coming here with the way the fans are,” said James McCarthy on Thursday night.
And the dead rubber against Krasnodar aside, Everton have been excellent at home in the Europa League.
They have plundered 11 goals and played their best football of the season under the lights on Euro nights.
That has to continue into the next round in order to give Everton the best possible chance of progressing to the quarter-finals.
“They are a team that are unbeaten and top of their league, ahead of teams like Dnipro and Shakhtar Donetsk and we know it is going to be really, really tough,” Martinez said. “You hope the draw is going to be kind and allow you to play the second leg at Goodison but that wasn’t the case but we need to make sure we are ready for the two games and a very tough away leg.”
Everton players knew exactly why the spontaneous celebration erupted at Goodison
James McCarthy holds off Young Boys' Leonardo Bertone
In case you were wondering, the Everton players knew exactly why a roar erupted from the stands midway through their game with Young Boys this week.
Sure, the Blues fans were delighted that their side had overturned the Swiss side’s early lead to go ahead 2-1 in the second leg but it was news of Liverpool’s demise in Istanbul that added to the jubilant atmosphere.
Everton’s players tried to keep their full concentration but as James McCarthy told the ECHO, they couldn’t help but notice the cheers.
“We were thinking ‘what’s going on?’ because we heard a big roar and the fans were singing but I put two and two together,” he said.
“But the main thing was us putting on a show tonight and getting into Friday’s draw.”
Europa League will miss the Young Boys' fans who lit up Goodison Park
A doff of the cap to the supporters of Young Boys who were in town on Thursday night.
Their side were trailing 4-1 before kick-off, yet they still sang. Their side took an early lead to reduce the deficit and they sang a bit louder.
And then their side conceded three goals to confirm their exit from the Europa League and they sang louder still.
They even bounced up and down.
The 1,700 who made the trip to Liverpool helped create a terrific atmosphere at the Old Lady and the competition will be a poorer place in their absence.
By Phil Kirkbride / Echo
