Everton hero had piece of history taken by pitch invader after sparking incredible comeback

Graham Stuart has revealed 30 years on from Everton’s first ‘Great Escape’ that a piece of the club’s history was taken from him by a pitch invader as he dashed off the Goodison Park turf following the nerve-shredding 3-2 comeback win over Wimbledon.

On May 7, 1994, Everton recovered from going 2-0 down to the south London side to record a 3-2 victory and preserve their Premier League season on the final day of the season. One of the iconic images of the day of high drama is of Stuart being ‘embraced’ by a couple of relieved Evertonians as he exits the field but three decades later, he acknowledges there was more to it.

Speaking in the latest episode of the Goodison Park: My Home series, Stuart told the ECHO: “He (the fan) whipped the ball off me the little so-and-so. It was weird, the ball landed at my feet and the referee blew the final whistle.

“It was just pure and utter relief. I’ve got the ball under my own and then some fella came up and he must have punched the ball from underneath my arm and it disappeared.”

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With four other clubs (Ipswich Town, Oldham Athletic, Sheffield United and Southampton) battling to avoid one of the two remaining relegation slots, Everton, who went into their final fixture third from bottom and with their fate out of their own hands, endured a nightmare start. Dean Holdsworth fired the in-form visitors ahead from the penalty spot after just four minutes while a catalogue of errors at the back resulted in a Gary Ablett own goal doubling their lead 16 minutes later.

Stuart said: “I just go back