Wayne Rooney had scored his first Everton goal. Not just any old goal, either. A 90th-minute winner against all-conquering Arsenal – and past England’s best goalkeeper, to boot.
He was understandably and unmistakably euphoric.
Francis Jeffers’ emotions, as he watched Everton’s new 16-year-old hero soak up the adulation of a rejoicing Goodison Park, were rather more complex.
All at once, Jeffers was hurt, envious… and proud.
He had seen it coming, though. Not just when observing the preternatural Rooney not so much graduating as bulldozing through the Toffees’ youth ranks, but also from his vantage point behind the ball as it left the young Evertonian’s boot.