A historic first night on the waterfront
On a night loaded with symbolism and noise, Everton christened the Hill Dickinson Stadium with the kind of performance the club hoped would define its next chapter. They beat Brighton 2-0, got a clean sheet, and watched Jack Grealish glide across the pitch like a man who had been playing here for years, not minutes. Two assists from the England international underpinned the result, and the home crowd left with the sense that this new place already has a pulse.
The calendar added a twist. The opener landed exactly 133 years to the day since Goodison Park first opened. That historical loop mattered, and the players seemed to feel it. Iliman Ndiaye etched his name into club folklore again. After scoring the final goals at Goodison, he became the first to net at the new waterfront ground, arriving at the back post to whip a controlled volley past the keeper from Grealish’s pinpoint cross midway through the first half.
Before that strike, the game looked like it might go the other way. Brighton created the better early chances and will lose sleep over their finishing. Kaoru Mitoma took advantage of hesitation from James Tarkowski and ripped a spectacular volley that grazed the top of the crossbar. Danny Welbeck then spooned over from close range after a sharp delivery from Yankuba Minteh. They were let-offs, and Everton took the hint.
Grealish began to stitch things together. He slowed the tempo when it needed a breath, then burst into spaces when the game broke open. His delivery for Ndiaye’s goal mixed patience and speed: a glance up, a measured pass, and a finish that felt inevitable. The noise told its own story—relief turning into belief as the new stands swallowed the moment.
Brighton didn’t go away. Jan Paul van Hecke rattled the post with a low drive, and Matt O’Riley nearly punished a Tarkowski blind back-pass, only to see Jordan Pickford smother at his feet. That was the tone of their night: good positions, smart movement, and not enough to show for it.
Everton’s second was a hammer blow. Early in the second half, Grealish again found the angle and teed up James Garner, who met the ball with a sweet, rising strike that flew beyond the keeper. Garner, born across the water in Birkenhead, became the first Merseysider to score at the new ground. Manager David Moyes called his performance “fabulous,” and few in the stands argued.
Even at 2-0, the game stayed edgy. With 15 minutes left, Brighton won a penalty after Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall handled in the box. Welbeck went low to the bottom right, and Pickford read it, sprang, and held. It felt decisive. Fabian Hurzeler said afterward that his side “were the better team” and “created so many big chances,” and on another night he might be right. But this night belonged to the team in blue, and to a stadium making a thunderous first impression.
Grealish’s influence, Brighton’s near-misses, and what this night says about Everton
Grealish was the hinge for everything. He drifted inside to pull markers and then broke wide to deliver, baiting defenders and committing them at awkward angles. Ndiaye fed off that unpredictability, timing his runs so that first contact led to final action. Garner, snapping into tackles and jumping into shooting lanes, offered the edge Everton have missed in games that tilt fine.
There was control when the home side needed it, but also aggression: Moyes’ team squeezed the middle, forced Brighton toward their full-backs, and then sprang forward. It wasn’t chance-free by any stretch, yet when the game swung, Everton landed the cleaner punches.
Brighton will pick apart the misses. Mitoma’s early volley set an attacking tone. Welbeck’s close-range effort from Minteh’s cross was the sort elite teams bury. Van Hecke hitting the upright kept the suspense alive, and O’Riley’s chance after Tarkowski’s error should have flipped the script but didn’t. The penalty, saved by Pickford, was the closing chapter in a book of frustration.
As an opening-night script, though, it worked. Everton got:
- A slice of history: Ndiaye scoring the first goal at the Hill Dickinson Stadium after netting the last at Goodison.
- Star power with substance: two Grealish assists that turned pressure into points.
- Local resonance: Garner’s thunderbolt and relentless work-rate on a ground that will lean on that energy all season.
- A defensive statement: a clean sheet saved by a late Pickford penalty stop.
Beyond the scoreline, the setting mattered. The new stadium planted on the water has a very different feel from Goodison’s tight old corridors. It’s bigger, brighter, and built for noise. The bowl shape keeps sound in, and you could hear it when Grealish put his foot on the ball and when Ndiaye’s volley went in. It felt less like a move and more like a handover.
For Moyes, this also underlined a shift in profile. Everton needed a creative hub and found one. Grealish brings the final ball, yes, but also calm when the game runs hot. Ndiaye gives clean movement and a striker’s instinct for second posts. Garner adds a local heartbeat and long-range threat. It’s not a complete picture yet, but it’s a workable spine.
Brighton’s takeaway isn’t doom. The patterns were there: sharp rotations in wide areas, quick breaks down the channels, and pressure that forced mistakes. What was missing was the finish at key moments. Hurzeler’s view that his team did enough to score more isn’t empty talk; his players carved the chances. But football is ruthless on nights like this, and the margins, as ever, decide careers and headlines.
The timeline told the story:
- Mitoma skims the bar with a fierce early volley after Tarkowski’s hesitation.
- Welbeck lifts over from six yards after Minteh’s driven cross.
- Ndiaye volleys in Grealish’s precise cross to open the Hill Dickinson Stadium account.
- Van Hecke hits the post; O’Riley denied one-on-one by Pickford after a blind back-pass.
- Garner unleashes a rocket from Grealish’s lay-off for 2-0.
- Pickford saves Welbeck’s late penalty to ice the night.
What does it mean? For Everton, a blueprint. The new home won’t win games by itself, but it can amplify the basics: intensity, speed in transition, and a playmaker who makes the last pass look simple. For the players, there’s the comfort of knowing the first night went right. For the fans, there’s a landmark date to match the old one from 133 years ago, and a feeling that this place can be theirs quickly.
There will be tougher nights. Brighton made sure of that even in defeat. But as opening statements go—a team led by Grealish’s craft, Ndiaye’s timing, Garner’s power, and Pickford’s late denial—this was clear and loud. The Hill Dickinson Stadium has its first chapter. Everton made sure it reads well.
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