Anthony Gordon missed a penalty in front of the Gwladys Street End as Newcastle and Everton played out a 0-0 draw.
The England winger, who left Goodison Park for Newcastle in 2023, had an opportunity to score from 12 yards but Jordan Pickford guessed right.
It was celebrated like a last-minute winner as a first Premier League clean sheet of the season earned Everton a fifth point from the last three games.
Both teams lacked quality in the final third as Dominic Calvert-Lewin was denied by Nick Pope with a low strike and Gordon blazed over in the second half.
Newcastle's wastefulness in the final third was showcased by the fact they didn't register a single shot on target following Gordon's 35th-minute saved penalty in this match despite registering a total of seven shots from inside the box in the second half.
It was a busy evening for the VAR booth at Stockley Park as they had to step in to disallow a Abdoulaye Doucoure goal in the first half for Everton after replays showed he was offside. They also intervened to award Newcastle the penalty that was missed by Gordon when spotting a foul off the ball by James Tarkowski on Sandro Tonali inside the box.
Calvert-Lewin was also convinced he should've been awarded a penalty after a tangle with Dan Burn but referee Craig Pawson waved it away and VAR didn't deem it an obvious error.
Pickford on penalty save: We were double bluffing each other!
Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford speaking to Sky Sports:
"I just fancied him to go keepers left. It hit off my knee and straight off my beak. I don't think I executed it to perfection.
"It's like trying to double bluff each other. I got the better of him tonight.
"He asked me why I went that way and I said you went right the last two times. It's pleasing, clean sheet and hopefully we can build on that.
"It's always a tough game against Newcastle. Not to get the win is disappointing, I might treat myself to a couple [drinks]."