With three minutes remaining here Everton’s unbeaten Goodison Park run was poised to be consigned to history.
Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa, meanwhile, looked like banking the victory prize as reward for directing the only shot on target of this attritional game.
Everton, however, growingly find a way at home.
Not to win necessarily but they certainly do not know when they are beaten.
How else to explain Theo Walcott converting a header?
He did it brilliantly, too.
Andre Gomes, perhaps emboldened by a burst to the dead-ball line moments earlier, hung a teasing deep cross from wide on the left.
Walcott met it with a clean header, sending the ball back past Pepe Reina and over the line despite the best efforts of goalscorer Konsa.
This was redemption of sorts for Gomes, punished for a foul on Keinan Davis in the lead up to Villa’s goal with 18 minutes remaining.
Conor Hourihane sent in the free-kick and Konsa applied the decisive touch from six yards.
Everton can draw some satisfaction from a spirited response to falling behind – and an excellent performance from Jarrad Branthwaite, who replaced the injured Mason Holgate after 16 minutes and looked to the manner born in Premier League football.
Going off Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s pre-match words Everton’s players were stung by the reaction to their defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.
It should be stated, Calvert-Lewin had no issue with his side being criticised, he was deeply unhappy with the performance which preceded those harsh words.
The striker showed up inside a minute, scissor-kicking over from an Alex Iwobi cross as Everton sought to answer their manager’s call for a spirited response to events at Molineux.
Everton’s sharp and incisive passing created a number of openings to deliver into the box.
Lucas Digne gallivanting high up the pitch was a recurring sight in the initial phase of the game and the movement from Everton’s attackers was scrambling the minds of Villa’s defenders.
Certainly, Tyrone Mings appeared to lose his bearings when Richarlison pulled to the left to send over an inswinging cross.
Centre-back Mings adjusted to get a head on the ball but could only help it on to the body of Calvert-Lewin.
The slightly fortunate Mings was relieved to see it drop behind his goal.
Everton continued to probe down the left.
Midfielder Gomes, back from an ankle problem and imaginative in possession – he had completed 90 per cent of his 20 passes at the break – fizzed a ball for Bernard.
The Brazilian on only his second start since lockdown clipped in a cross which grazed the top of the bar with goalkeeper Reina stranded.
Jack Grealish, to the surprise of nobody, always looked the most likely of Villa’s attackers.
One run into the box was halted by Michael Keane and Grealish’s dipping drive after receiving possession from John McGinn travelled over.
He couldn’t conceal his anguish two minutes after the restart when dragging wide of the near post with a shot from the left edge of Everton’s box.
Grealish again two minutes later. Same position, this time manoeuvring the ball onto his right boot for a curling effort beyond the far post.
Digne had continued feeding his attacking instincts prior to the break.
He collected the rebound from his own blocked shot to tee up Iwobi for a strike which flew over, then drove into Villa’s box where he was thwarted by Konsa’s block.
Iwobi turned Matt Targett inside out for an inviting delivery which Calvert-Lewin couldn’t reach as Everton responded to Villa’s bright return from half-time.
Tom Davies was over with a rising shot and McGinn couldn’t control a header in front of goal with both keepers still waiting to make a save after the hour mark.
Ancelotti swapped both his wingers early in the second half at Wolves and did the same here, Anthony Gordon and Walcott on for Bernard and Iwobi.
And the Italian made another double change immediately after Konsa’s strike.
Ancelotti was readying Gylfi Sigurdsson and Moise Kean when Gomes was penalised for fouling Davis.
By the time the pair came on, Konsa’s outstretched boot had diverted Hourihane’s delivery beyond Jordan Pickford.
Kean was too high with a 25-yard blast before Villa substitute Anwar El Ghazi contrived to turn over from underneath the bar after Grealish shimmied and whipped in a deep cross from the left.
Calvert-Lewin was inches from levelling with four minutes to play.
Gomes capitalised on a slip by Konsa to reach the byline and cut a ball back for Calvert-Lewin.
He struck it first time but the wrong side of Reina’s right post.
Not Everton’s day?
Not quite.
Walcott floated his header over Reina to break Villa hearts.
He wasn’t done there either, flashing a ball across the face of goal before Sigurdsson was fractionally wide with the game’s final strike.
Everton couldn’t land the knockout blow.
But their proud Goodson record is still standing.
Branthwaite’s Goodison Bow
It is the lot of a centre-half that they’ll wear a few smacks to the chops in any given 90 minutes.
Jarrad Branthwaite was barely into the game after replacing Mason Holgate when he was clattered by Tyrone Mings.
The 18-year-old, who had already stroked a terrific ball out of defence for Lucas Digne, was unruffled by the blow.
He’ll have experienced a few buffetings on his handful of outings in League Two for Carlisle United, mind.
Branthwaite immediately looked measured in possession and in his own penalty box was composed enough to steer a pass 10 yards forward for Andre Gomes.
The first test of his defending was passed with flying colours, Branthwaite climbing above Mbwana Samatta to clear a dangerous ball from Villa’s left.
Branthwaite stands 6ft 4in and extended one of his long legs to dispossess Samatta and spring Everton on a counter attack.
He defended like a man 10 years his senior when using that powerful frame to ease Villa forward Trezeguet out of possession, before positioning himself between man and ball to draw a foul from the Egyptian.
Branthwaite’s ability to tidy up at the back indicates a young man who reads the game very well.
“Impressive on and off the ball,” was former Everton midfielder Leon Osman’s half-time verdict on the teenager.
Branthwaite will have to play another 431 games to match Osman’s Everton appearance tally.
He is starting young, though.
Equally, he is starting very well.
There is no question of Branthwaite being fazed by either his surroundings or the quality of players whose company he is now keeping.
He again belied his inexperience when contemptuously brushing John McGinn off the ball racing back towards his own goal.
Ancelotti didn’t have much complimentary to say following Everton’s game at Wolves on Sunday but he did reserve some nice words for Branthwaite, whose league experience prior to the weekend amounted to nine matches for Carlisle.
The defender had a rough two minutes following his half-time introduction in the Midlands but the way he regained his composure impressed the Everton manager.
Branthwaite seized his chance to learn and impress when Everton had an unbroken run on the training ground following lockdown.
His first playing opportunities have come in peculiar circumstances, with no supporters in ground and Everton’s results dipping after a promising return from their enforced layoff.
But Branthwaite has stood tall in every sense.
We can expect to see more of him.
Michael's Milestone
Channelling the sporting mood in his native Manchester where England are playing a Test match against West Indies, Michael Keane brought up his century of Everton starts when the first whistle sounded on this game.
It is the view of many pundits that Keane is looking as accomplished and assured as at any time since he swapped Burnley for Everton three years ago.
Carlo Ancelotti has taken a shine to the defender and Keane was on the field for every minute of Everton’s eight matches coming into the visit of Villa.
The 27-year-old resolved early in lockdown to refine his game, specifically focusing on sharpening up the footwork essential for a centre half.
Keane’s diligence has translated into a series of sound displays following the Premier League’s resumption last month – and drawn kind words from manager Ancelotti, not given to hollow praise.
The confidence gleaned from knuckling down during football’s shutdown, wedded to a solid run of games, is reflected in Keane’s assertiveness on the pitch right now.
You can tell Keane has everything in sync from his front foot defending.
He gets right up on the opposing striker – here Keane twice smothered Mbwana Samatta early in the game, preventing the forward from turning.
Keane’s heading is authoritative and his passing crisp.
He is patient when defending, a virtue demonstrated when Keane astutely picked his moment to dispossess an advancing Jack Grealish in Everton’s box – this soon after the England player had headed clear from deep.
Villa were content to sit off and allow Everton to build from the back, playing into the hands of Keane, who consistently returns passing accuracy numbers higher than 90 per cent.
When Everton had to defend a free-kick in first-half stoppage time Keane was positioned to convincingly meet the ball with his forehead.
“It is always Michael Keane who gets his head on it,” observed Jamie Carragher from Sky Sports’ commentary box.
Keane barked orders and looked every inch a leader in Everton’s defence.
He’d made seven clearances by the end – four more than any of his teammates – and three interceptions and was successful with 60 of 65 passes.
11-Plus?
Everton will host Bournemouth in their final game of the campaign in 10 days aiming to add to an 11-match unbeaten stretch at Goodison Park.
It was commonly agreed home advantage would be erased without supporters in stadiums – and Everton’s manager and players are counting the days until Goodison is full to the brim.
The Blues have nevertheless overcome a more level-playing field at home to stitch four matches onto their productive run.
Two of their visitors post-lockdown have come from the Premier League’s top end in the shape of Liverpool and Leicester City but between them those sides took only one point from Goodison.
Carlo Ancleotti’s team’s grip on their undefeated run was slipping when trailing Southampton last week but Everton refused to give up a record that is exceptionally hard earned.
The 11-game sequence dates back to December and this season’s most rousing Goodison occasion, the 3-1 win over Chelsea inspired by caretaker boss Duncan Ferguson.
He oversaw a draw with Arsenal before passing on to Ancelotti, whose debut home win over Burnley looks more impressive every time Sean Dyche’s team play.
How Newcastle United escaped back to Tyneside with a draw in January is one of this or any other season’s greatest riddles.
The two goals Newcastle scored deep into stoppage time to smuggle a point out of Goodison nevertheless served as a reminder of the fragility of any unbeaten run.
Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace have returned south with nothing from trips to L4 and Everton were worthy of their draw – at least – when Manchester United were in town back in March.
My, they had to grit their teeth to cling to their Goodison record after relegation-threatened Villa grabbed the advantage.
But Everton answered Carlo Ancelotti's demand for a spirited effort in line with the Club's "fighting DNA" and it was enough to avoid an anti-climactic conclusion to a hard-won sequence.
