Jarrad Branthwaite believes Everton showed the sort of 'grit and a strong mentality' that their supporters love in the 1-1 draw against Chelsea - and spoke of the unbelievable feeling he experienced after scoring his first senior goal for the club.
Branthwaite was one of the Blues’ standout performers as they battled their way to a point at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night.
Without a host of first-team stars, Everton boss Rafa Benitez was forced to field a youthful looking starting line-up as injuries and illness continues to take its toll on the club.
However, Benitez’s side were nothing short of superb against the current Champions League holders, even though they fell behind with 20 minutes remaining when Mason Mount opened the scoring.
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But just four minutes after falling behind, Branthwaite struck for the Blues to send the travelling Evertonians at the Bridge wild and secure a well-earned point.
“I’m buzzing,” Branthwaite said after the game. “Playing for this club – like I said when I signed my contract recently – means the world to me.
“And for those fans, who travelled that far on a Thursday night to watch us, we put on a performance for them so I’m buzzing.
“I can’t put it into words, really. It was my first Premier League start for a while and I just wanted to enjoy it.
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“Getting the result we did, coming away to a top team like Chelsea, I’m over the moon and happy for the fans as well. You can see what it means to our fans, and what it means to us, too, to get that result. It’s superb.
“It’s massive as we showed grit and strong mentality. Every player on the pitch gave 110 per cent and that’s what we need every game to get us to where we want to be.”
Branthwaite’s goal arrived when Anthony Gordon swung in a lovely free kick from the left that the centre-back managed to get a toe on to divert past Edouard Mendy.
And when reflecting on the strike, Branthwaite opened up on how the move had come straight from the training ground.
He said: “We worked on that in training yesterday. I got a few chances round the back and I said to Anthony before the game to just keep delivering those balls in.
“When it was coming to me, I was like, ‘right, I better score here’. When it went into the back of the net, it was an unbelievable feeling.”
The goals caps off a surreal few weeks for the youngster who, after joining Everton from hometown club Carlisle United in January 2020, signed a new deal last week.
“When I signed my contract the other day, I spoke to my family afterwards and they reminded me how far I’ve come,” he said on his rise up the leagues.
“Two years ago I was playing in League Two with Carlisle, the club I’d been at since I was eight, and now I’m playing in the Premier League. I’m buzzing.”
