Double-Header Day Opened Hill Dickinson Stadium!
- Spirit of The News
- Aug 9
- 3 min read
Today marked a monumental day that will go down in the history books of Everton FC, as for the first time ever Hill Dickinson Stadium welcomed a maximum capacity crowd of 52,769. The double-header fixture, starting with Everton vs AS Roma, was followed by Everton Legends vs AS Roma Legends!
The men’s first team game was the first of the day, with David Moyes setting out a full-strength squad to face the Italian giants, giving both Adam Aznou and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who have recently signed for the Toffees, their first appearances.
Lineups:
Everton:
Pickford
Mykolenko
Branthwaite
Tarkowski
O'Brien
Garner
Gueye
Alcaraz
Dewsbury-Hall
Ndiaye
Barry
Roma:
Svilar
Hermoso
Mancini
Ghilardi
Tasende
El Aynaoui
Cristante
Franca
Kone
Soule
Dovbyk
The game included a lack of overall threat and chances, with perhaps the hope to prevent any injury being at the forefront of the fixture, as the Blues' first Premier League game of the 25/26 campaign is on the 18th August, and Roma’s first match in the Serie A is on the 23rd August. However, this didn’t last long, as only 10 minutes into the game, Ukrainian fullback Vitalii Mykolenko went down and was forced off the pitch due to an injury, with the 26-year-old being replaced by Adam Aznou.
One huge chance for the Toffees came through a counterattack emerging from a persistent run from Dewsbury-Hall in the 31st minute. When receiving the ball from a lobbed pass from James Garner, the 26-year-old had to shrug off Spanish defender Mario Hermoso, who had a tight hold of the shirt of Everton’s most recent addition. Able to defeat the man, a pass into an on-running Thierno Barry, who waited for Charly Alcaraz on the overlap on the right-hand side patiently, in an attempt to fool the defender and have a clear shot on target. The footballing intelligence allowed Barry to have a strong shot on goal; however, Roma’s goalkeeper, Mile Svilar, was able to get a hand on the ball, parrying it away from danger.
Just before the break, it was Roma’s turn to have a go! A great ball over to Matias Soule, who cut in from the right flank just outside of the penalty area on the South Stand of the ground, before a sliding tackle from Jarrad Branthwaite cleared the ball, unfortunately for the Englishman, into the path of ex-Manchester City fullback Angelino, whosespectacular strike was kept out by the crossbar, and although Pickford was fully outstretched, there was no way the goalkeeper was getting near that!
It wasn’t until the 70th minute that a proper chance would occur again. When Danish defender Victor Nelsson carried the ball forward into the midfield before finding Matias Soule, it wasn’t a difficult task for the Roma player to have a shot on goal, as the Everton back line were all over the place. A simple cut in and finesse into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal in front of the travelling Roma fans gave them the lead they deserved.
Although Everton’s late efforts were strong, it was not enough for Moyes and his team to get anything from the fixture. It is evident to see there is still work to be done, not supporting the fact the Scotsman has admitted that Mykolenko, Patterson and Harrison Armstrong all may/are be injured, as well as openly stating in press conferences that we are desperately attempting to improve the squad until the serious segment of the season.
Though the defeat wasn’t nice, Evertonians within Hill Dickinson Stadium were allowed to stay and watch Everton Legends take on Roma Legends, providing some laughs and joy amongst the crowd, especially with the end result and moments on display.
Lineups:
Everton:
Mucha
Hibbert
Baines
Clarke
Jagielka
Bent
McCarthy
Barry
Walcott
Johnson
Pienaar
Roma:
Amelia
Zebina
Aldair
Zago
Candela
Tommasi
Pizarro
Brighi
Perrotta
Perotti
Delvecchio
Although the game was slow, it was nice to see a few moments of entertainment from the likes of Steven Pienaar, Leighton Baines and Toby Hibbert, who was provided with a fair share of “shooooot!” during his time on the pitch. Everton opened the scoring 21 minutes in as Leighton Baines’ corner kick was pinpointed perfectly onto the head of Phil Jagielka, who headed it home and hit the cartwheel celebration! It got even better for the Everton Legends, as a good cross across goal from Jose Baxter was, eventually, tapped in by Steven Naismith, due to the fact the 38-year-old ended up scoring whilst on the floor! Towards the end of the 50-minute affair, Peter Reid, who made 235 appearances for Everton, leading the team out and winning many major honours throughout the 1980s, subbed himself on into the number 6 role, showcasing some impressive fitness and passing accuracy for a 69-year-old!
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