Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Goodis… – scratch that - TheScore.ie war-room where we will be toiling to bring you live updates from tonight’s, potentially classic,  Premier League fixture between Everton and Newcastle United.

Mike Jones is your referee tonight and here come the teams.

Kevin Mirallas will make his home debut. Demba Ba is left out of Newcastle’s starting line-up.

Everton: Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Neville, Osman, Pienaar, Fellaini, Mirallas, Jelavic.

Subs: Mucha, Heitinga, Naismith, Gueye, Coleman, Anichebe, Duffy.

Newcastle: Harper, Perch, Steven Taylor, Williamson, Santon, Cabaye, Anita, Gutierrez, Marveaux, Cisse, Ben Arfa.

Subs: Elliot, Gosling, Ba, Bigirimana, Shola Ameobi, Obertan, Tavernier.

The teams are out of the tunnel with a nice touch in the week of the revelations around Hillborough: Two mascots led out the Toffees hand-in-hand. One in Everton blue, one in Liverpool red. A nine and a six emblazoned on their respective backs.

A lovely touch, we’ll bring you a pic when we can.

KICK-OFF: Alex Ferguson is among the crowd in Liverpool who are applauding in tribute at the 96 lives lost at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final. A moving tribute from an arch-rival.

OUCH! Disallowed goal for Everton.

MIrallas showed some confident touched on the right, cut the ball inside to Fellaini whose first time shot was weakly batted away by Krul.

Nikica Jelavic slid in to finish, but was flagged offside. He took a sharp auld bang off the post for his troubles. He’s since managed to hobble back onto the field.

Here’s the two mascots. Heart-warming stuff.

For an evening kick-off, Goodison Park is unusually quiet. But a series of snappy passes from Hibbert to Neville, onto Osman, Distin and Baines culminates in a chance for Pienaar.

His shot though, from 15 yards on the angle, is sliced well wide of the visitors goal.

GOAL: Everton 1 -0 Newcastle (Baines ’15)

Everton’s short spell of dominance brings forth a brilliant goal.

Leighton Baines approached the left edge of the box and played a pass to Pienaar. The South African instantly back-heeled a return into the fullback’s path and he smashed it low across and under Steve Harper.

The old fella didn’t stand a chance.

That chance for Pienaar was the beginning of some sustained pressure from the home side. United are struggling to find a way out of their final third.

Perhaps it won’t be too long until we see Demba Ba.

20 minutes gone and Everton could easily be 3-0 up. Kevin Mirallas cut in from the left and unleashed a 25-yard curling shot which whistled inches past the post. Harper was at full stretch, but would have been very lucky to save the shot had it been on target.

Mirallas is really enjoying himself out there. Baines’ cross is deflected on by Fellaini and his fellow Belgian manages to pluck the ball from the sky despite being tightly marked. He twists and turns to fashion a shot, but it is straight at the overworked Newcastle ‘keeper.

Papiss Cisse is very close to an equaliser. Everton fail to clear a cross in to their six-yard box and the ball drops to an unmarked Cisse.

He needed to shoot across the goal from right to left and he did so with a first time volley, but it ran an inch the wrong side of Tim Howard’s upright.

Another narrow escape for United. Phil Jagielka won a header from a long pass upfield. Jelavic, on the left corner of the area instantly laid it back to the England international and he drove a powerful shot towards the bottom right corner.

Alas, it veered off course in the final two metres.

Steve Harper is puffing out his cheeks in frustration. Another let-off.

Yellow card for Vernun Anita. The Toon’s new signing got a little too combative with Tony Hibbert and is rightly cautioned.

Chances galore in this game.

Leighton Baines has already won man-of-the-match according to co-commentator Matt LeTissier. The fullback has just cleared the ball off the line after Marveaux and Cisse caused confusion the the hosts’ defence allowing Ben Arfa fizz a ball low across the six yard box.

we’re not sure if the contact came from Marveaux or Osman, but Baines was once again in exactly the right place at the right time.

Seriously, though. Everton really should be two up by now. James Perch received a short kick-out but was quickly dispossessed by Steven Pienaar.

He cut inside to shoot, but failed to notice Osman drift into an acre of space to his right. The shot was awful. Osman was most displeased.

All the while, the other man you’d expect to be in support, Nikica Jevalic, lay prone on the ground. He has finally succumbed to injury and is replaced by Victor Anichebe just before the half-way point.

HALF TIME: Everton 1 – 0 Newcastle

Chances at both ends, then. But Alan Pardew will make his way down from the stand very happy to be only a goal down. Everton have looked dominant without ever hitting top gear so far tonight.

The visitors need a dramatic change of tack (or a whopping big slice of luck) to get anything from this game.

The second half is underway and Newcastle have made a necessary change. Demba Ba is on in place of Marveaux and Pardew has reshuffled his defensive options with Anita moved  to right back to keep an eye on Baines and James Perch pushed into midfield.

With Anita on a yellow we’re not sure that’s the wisest move.

GOAL: Everton 1 – 1 Newcastle (Ba ’49)

Well, Demba Ba has wasted no time in showing Alan Pardew why he should have started. Last season’s superstar hung in the left channel in space. Cabaye broke from midfield on the opposite side of the field and rolled an expertly weighted pass into this path.

Ba was patient, and set himself for a first-time left foot shot struck which rolled low inside Howard’s left-hand post.

Apparently, that’s the Magpies 100oth Premier League / Premiership goal.

Now, don’t let me here you complaining there’s no useless stats on TheScore.ie

The home side have ratcheted up the temp through – guess who – Leighton Baines.

His whipped cross misses Fellaini by inches at the near-post, but a sign of what Everton are capable of id they start to put their minds to it.

…. and there’s another disallowed goal. Another lovely incisive move that ends with Pienaar slipping  through-ball to Fellaini who is offside by the length of his collarbone.

Another close shave for Harper as Anichebe chases down a weak backpass and the pair collide in a heap.

The ref eventually decides a free out is in order and looks tempted to book Anichebe until Harper protests that the striker only had eyes for the ball.

Sportsmanship. It’s well in tune with all we have seen on Merseyside this evening.

Wow. Not only does Harper has his hands full in defence of his goal he’s moved into attack.

The ‘keeper rushed 30 yards off his line to intercept a ball over the top. He headed on and volley the ball clear. So clear, in fact, that is landed on the toe of Papiss Cisse in the Everton area. This tome, his touch was not assured enough and Baines managed to steal the ball away.

Everton go close AGAIN. And again it’s the attacking trio of Fellaini, Pienaar and Osman who create the opening.

The Belgian stands up Anita on the left wing, before dinking a pass into the South African on the edge of the area. Pienaar turns and toes the ball to Osman at the edge of the area and he curls a low left-foot shot an inch wide of the upright.

That looked like a goal. Victor Anichebe connected with a header from point-blank range. It crashed off the underside of the bar and looked to be scrambled clear from behind the line…

Yep, it should have been a goal. Mike Jones compounded a poor decision by stopping play as Hatem Ben Arfa was counter-attacking at the other end.

Judge for yourself.

85 minutes: A little overdue, but Ben Arfa has his chance to go clean through on Howard. The Frenchman latched onto a fine through-ball and out-sprinted Jagielka on his way into the box.

Jagielka slid as Ben Arfa pulled back his left foot to shoot low. Saved by the foot of Howard.

GOAL Everton 2 – 1 Newcastle (Anichebe ’87)

Victor Anichebe does eventually get his just rewards. turning brilliantly from Pienaar’s pass to rifle a low shot across Harper.

GOAL Everton 2 – 2 Newcastle (Ba ’89)

The Premier League is nothing if not dramatic.  Ba grabs his second as Tim Howard fails to deal with Ameobi’s chest-on. The ball bounces and Ba gets a vital left foot touch on.

What a finish. Alan Pardew was frantically barking down his phone trying to make a change after Ben Arfa sloppily gave the ball away. We’re hearing reports that Gabriel Obertan pulled a Tevez and refused to move from his comfy spot on the bench.

If true, he’ll not be moving beyond it for the foreseeable future.

FULL TIME: Everton 2 – 2 Newcastle

Neither side able to force a breakthrough in the closing stages A fantastic game, but one Everton really could have had wrapped up in the first half.

The second 45 brought chances aplenty at both ends and credit Pardew for drastically changing his personnel and restoring a disgruntled Ba to the field. His double saved them from defeat today.