And even several pints of Trapper's Hat couldn't cloud the fact that the Blues were very fortunate to come out of this one with all three points!
After Everton scoring a total of 11goals without reply in the last three matches, many were predicting more of the same in this one to condemn Portsmouth to their seventh straight league defeat.
And whilst Everton did inflict that defeat, via a moment of brilliance from Louis Saha, the win was anything but easy!
Portsmouth had the better of the opening exchanges and the reports that they're not actually as bad as their results suggest looked to have some substance to them.
The first real opening of the game came in the 34th minute as Portsmouth's Aruna Dindane out-muscled Joseph Yobo on the egde of the Everton area but saw his shot well saved by Tim Howard.
Two minutes later and it was David James' turn to take the plaudits as he kept out a close range header from Marouane Fellaini with his left foot.
But the Portsmouth 'keeper seemed to bottle it the next time he was called into action and his moments hesitation was enough for Louis Saha to smash Everton into the lead.
John Heitinga hit a 40-yard-ball upfield that left Younas Kaboul completely wrong-footed and allowed Louis Saha to race into the Portsmouth area, take the ball down with his face - no, really - and leather a half-volley padt a dithering David James.
Cue one upturned table, a few spilled pints and more than one cry of "bell end" as one dinnertime drinker forgot that his legs were wedged under said table as he leapt with delight from his chair.
That was Everton in front at half time and the flood gates were sure to open in the second half.
Obviously, they never!
Portsmouth started the second half the brighter of the two teams and on 51 minutes Tal Ben-Haim thought he'd levelled for Portsmouth but saw his goal bound header kept out by the shoulder of Tim Howard who porduced a fine reaction stop.
Paul Hart also thought Pompey had levelled but, upon realising the effort had been stopped, he slumped in his chair with a look of despair reminiscent of Burgess Meredith's Penguin after he'd been outwitted for the millionth time by Adam West's Batman!
Everton then suffered their weekly knee injury as Steven Pienaar was on the receiving end of a crude challenge - there's diplomacy for you - from Aaron Mokoena who somehow managed to avoid his second yellow card of the game!
Mokoena then hit the corssbar with a powerful header and if that had gone it probably would've given the press their weekly footballing gripe: 'Should goals be chalked off if the player that scored it should've received a red card before he scored?'...well after all that arse about Man United's injury time winner last week anything's up for debate!
Portsmouth even got some last minute heartbreak thrown at them as Leighton Baines - the player most likely to have a post-footballing career acting in vampire movies - headed Hassan Yebda's goal-bound header off the line.
Another hard-luck story for Pompey - and you do have to feel for them given the way they've been asset stripped - but a hard-earned three points for Everton.
And so I left the boozer to the sound of much tele-clapping - I've never understood that - and with a spring in my stagger as Everton recorded their third win of the season to soar up into ninth position, corner turned!