Everton suffered a third straight Premier League defeat to Wolves.
Sean Dyche handed rare starts to Jarrad Branthwaite and Lewis Dobbin in hopes of avoiding his side’s first hat-trick of opening losses since 1990.
But the visitors delivered a sucker-punch when Sasa Kalajdzic rose to meet Pedro Neto’s cross from the left to snatch victory just three minutes from time.
Here were the key talking points from Goodison Park:
Dyche finally listens to the fans
For all his dismissal about ‘noise’ around the club, Sean Dyche does appear to listen when it comes to matters of the heart in Everton’s starting line-up.
Deploying Jarrad Branthwaite in defence was exactly what the Goodison faithful were crying out for after MIchael Keane’s constantly woeful displays.
Lewis Dobbin occupying the fulcrum of attack is another demand that Blues’ supporters have made in recent weeks as Neal Maupay proved ineffectual.
Dyche’s decision to finally listen to fans’ well-founded suggestions also carried a potential risk with half of his starting XI coming in at the age of 22 or under.
Yet the duo acquitted themselves well against a Wolves side whose own fortunes mirrored their hosts yet made life difficult at both ends of the pitch.
Despite Fabio Silva’s constant haring, Branthwaite merited his inclusion at the expense of Keane by being unflappable as he made various interventions.
Dobbin, too, caused problems for Craig Dawson during the second half, notably when he was played in by Ashley Young’s free kick over the top.
The striker’s first Premier League start offered hope that he can play a role for Dyche in attack, regardless of who arrives before next week’s transfer deadline.
Unfortunately the pair were undermined by being part of an Everton side which earned its own ignominious place in the record books on Saturday.
…but history weighs heavy on Blues’ boss
Comparisons with Colin Harvey should flatter any modern Everton manager.
The ‘White Pele’ may not have delivered tangible success during a late 1980s spell in his boyhood club’s hot seat yet it still carried plenty of statistical feats.
One, however, has threatened to haunt Dyche’s predecessors until Wolves emerged from the Grand Old Lady with their third victory in as many seasons.
Not since Harvey’s final months at the helm in 1990 have Everton been on the receiving end of a hat-trick of losses from their opening league games.
Three months later, he paid the price by being sacked, only to make a swift return as assistant manager to his midfield sparring partner Howard Kendall.
Dyche does not possess that longstanding history with the club nor an old pal waiting in the wings if his fate is sealed by Everton’s failure to pick up points.
Barely six months in, the hand of history is already weighing heavily on Goodison’s latest incumbent and once it grips, there tends to be no coming back.
Groundhog Day returns to Goodison
Everton’s opening two home games have followed a distinct theme.
They started on the front foot, created an abundance of chances but still succumbed to a one-goal reversal against their largely second-best visitors.
As Dyche’s side scrambled to salvage a draw from the jaws of defeat before time ran out, a previously coherent game plan gave way to sheer desperation.
His decision to introduce Keane as a makeshift striker had roots in the end to last season, when the defender came up with the goods against Tottenham.
But lightning was never likely to strike twice for the former Burnley man with the damage done long before his introduction at the start of stoppage time.
Goodison was already feeling the effects of Groundhog Day after seeing cross after cross repeatedly telegraphed into Jose Sa’s outstretched arms.
The tactic became far too predictable long before Everton’s profligacy got the better of them yet Dyche’s players persevered with that tiresome approach.
The next seven days are set to become some of the most crucial in the club’s modern-day existence and goes deeper than simply sourcing another striker.
Fresh ideas are just as important as new personnel because the alternative is already pointing at the unthinkable for a third top-flight season running.