This was a very different environment for Jordan Pickford compared to most Premier League away days, given that rather than the usual baiting, the Everton goalkeeper was given a generous round of applause from Sunderland’s supporters before kick-off. To be fair, even Millwall’s notorious fans did that for Tim Cahill when he first returned to the Den for an FA Cup tie in 2006 with the Blues, but then they proceeded to boo the Australian’s every touch once the game was underway.

The same kind of animosity was not present here with Pickford’s son walking out on the pitch wearing a half-and-half Everton/Sunderland shirt but such is the way that the 31-year-old plays the game – even his old PE teacher couldn’t help but chuckle when asked by this correspondent for an article previewing this game whether he’d always been a wind-up merchant – within a few minutes, many among the Black Cats faithful were getting increasingly frustrated by what they saw as a leisurely approach from him when it came to restarting play from...