Everton defender James Tarkowski was grateful redemption came quickly after he provided Goodison Park with one of its most memorable moments in the final Merseyside derby at the ground.
Four days previously the centre-back had been roundly criticised for being culpable for both Bournemouth goals in a disappointing home FA Cup exit.
The 32-year-old admits he had a difficult couple of days in the aftermath but, after brilliantly smashing home to make it 2-2 in the eighth minute of added time, the stand-in captain had a smile on his face again.
“I had a really tough weekend,” said the defender.
“I was really disappointed with how things went in the FA Cup and was really disappointed in myself, so to come back and score like that felt special.
“(I had) a little bit of support from team-mates and family but it is not nice when you have a tough game like I had over the weekend.
“You do question things a little bit but as professionals we luckily have games that come round quick, and thankfully it did in a massive occasion.
“It is all part of being a footballer, having tough moments like I had at the weekend and part of that is bouncing back.
“As a player you have difficult moments, I had one of them myself, so hopefully I can bounce back a bit.”
Tarkowski’s goal sparked wild scenes down by a corner flag in front of the Gwladys Street and Bullens Road stands.
A small number of fans ran onto the pitch, with one picking up the flag and waving it around to join the players’ celebrations.
While the authorities will take a dim view of it, Tarkowski thoroughly enjoyed booking his place in the club’s history, with a move to the new Bramley-Moore Dock stadium only six months away.
“A special, special night and what a way to finish the last derby here,” he added.
“It will be a special moment for the rest of my career and probably the biggest moment for me really.
“I had an 80-year-old man grabbing me and then a five-year-old kid pulling me to the floor. There were stewards everywhere. Chaos – but what a moment it was.
“I’ve had a couple of proud moments; promotions and playing for my country, but for me this is the biggest just with everything which is happening right now, leaving this iconic stadium, probably for me it will be the biggest goal of my career.”
Tarkowski also thinks the goal helped prevent him getting involved in the post-match scuffle which saw Abdoulaye Doucoure and Liverpool’s Curtis Jones sent off for second bookable offences, with Reds head coach Arne Slot and his assistant Sipke Hulshoff shown red cards by referee Michael Oliver.
“I just wanted to enjoy the moment because I usually get involved in that but with scoring the goal I was more than happy to get away from it,” he added.
Off the pitch, Everton insist the Gambling Commission’s decision to rescind the UK licence of Stake.uk.com will not affect their shirt sponsorship with parent company Stake.com.
The Commission warned the club officers may be liable to prosecution and possible imprisonment if they promote unlicensed gambling businesses which transact with British consumers, but Everton say they have never had dealings with the UK arm, which operates under a ‘white label’ agreement, and are sponsored by the global entity which is entirely separate.
