I WAS fortunate enough to be at Everton on Monday night, in the company of some great Evertonians such as Duncan Ferguson and Joe Royle, to witness another memorable Goodison Park occasion.

Whenever I am asked to name the best atmospheres in football, I always say the same thing. Goodison, for a big game, under the lights, is unbeatable. That view was shared by Duncan and Joe, and even players who never played for Everton.

The crowd were relentless, whipped into a frenzy by Kevin Mirallas’ introduction prior to kick off, and never letting up thereafter. If the Belgian had any doubts he had made the right decision in joining Everton, that would surely have dispelled them.

The game itself, of course, was dominated by another Belgian. Marouane Fellaini (pictured) grabbed the winner, and the headlines, with a quite spectacular performance. I have been somebody who required convincing when it came to him in the past, but that was his best performance, by a mile, in a blue shirt.

He wasn’t the only excellent performer though. Nikica Jelavic ran tirelessly, the midfield quartet were relentless, and in Tony Hibbert and, especially, Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin, we had the game’s outstanding players.

Jagielka was back to his best, whilst Distin played a Rolls Royce of a game. He made marking the likes of Rooney, Van Persie and Welbeck look easy. It was a match-winning performance from the Frenchman.

It says plenty that people have spent the subsequent days commenting on how poor Rooney and Van Persie were. The reason was that Everton - and especially Fellaini, Distin and Jagielka - never let them perform. Everton looked fit and strong, and it was a night to savour.