Joao Virginia has described the feeling of playing in front of a packed Goodison Park as a “dream come true” and outlined his ambitions to keep trying to impress manager Sean Dyche. 

The Portuguese goalkeeper was handed a second start of this month by Dyche as he lined up between the sticks in last week’s 1-0 FA Cup third round replay victory over Crystal Palace. The 24-year-old also started ahead of Club No.1 Jordan Pickford in the first meeting between the two sides at Selhurst Park. 

Virginia was a commanding and confident presence throughout both fixtures, helping Everton shut out Roy Hodgson’s men by making eight combined saves. 

Five of those came in last week’s clash at Goodison Park, the pick of those coming in second-half stoppage time when the Everton goalkeeper spread himself to superbly deny Jeffrey Schlupp with a free header at the back post. 

His performance in that game at Goodison saw him awarded the contest’s Player of the Match and drew high praise from Dyche who labelled his late save “fantastic” in his post-match press conference. 

“It was a dream come true and I was really pleased it turned out the way it did,” Virginia told evertontv reflecting on the win. “We managed to get into the next stage [of the FA Cup] so I was really pleased.

“Just to play in front of the Evertonians was a massive thing for me, and to play like that - it was amazing.”

Although Virginia joined the Club from Arsenal in the summer of 2018, last week’s victory was just his fifth Senior appearance for Everton and his first since March 2021. But from those five, the former Sporting CP shot-stopper does boast three combined clean sheets. 

That is a record Virginia is proud of and, although aware competition is stiff due to Jordan Pickford’s standout abilities, he is hopeful more opportunities to build on that record will come his way under Dyche’s tenure. 

“The manager gave me a chance and I took it,” said Virginia. “Hopefully, he keeps giving me chances to play more.

“It was a difficult game (last week) and Palace did well, they had a few chances so all I can do is be ready and keep us in the game. My mindset is always to be ready and I have to keep on going, and take it onto the next games I get a chance to.”

On the win handing the Blues three clean sheets from their opening three games of 2024, Virginia added: “It gives us massive confidence. The backline is playing well, Jordan is going great and I am pushing, so it’s a good feeling and hopefully now we will start getting some more wins.”