Scenes around Goodison Park on Saturday morning after news of the postponement of the Merseyside derby.Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images
A 15-year-old from Australia used all his savings to attend the final league derby at Goodison Park, only for the match to be postponed four hours before kick-off.
The young Everton fan from Sydney, known only as Mackenzie, asked his Liverpool-born mum at Easter whether he could return to England for the historic occasion.
His mum, Rita, told Radio Merseyside this past week: “When we came back, he said it was his dream to go to an Everton v Liverpool game at Goodison Park. I said: ‘You’ve got no chance, mate. We’ve just come back from England and there’s no way I can save that money in the time we’ve got.’
“He saved up the money, used all his savings and said two weeks ago: ‘I’d really like to go, Mum – will you let me go?’ I said: ‘I can’t stop you if you’ve got the money.’ We’re very proud of him.” The teenager added: “Everyone says I’m a lucky charm.”
Mackenzie, who is staying with an aunt in England, attended Everton’s 4-0 win against Wolves on Wednesday but his dream of seeing a derby at Goodison was shattered on Saturday morning.
The 245th Merseyside derby was due to be the last league meeting at Goodison after 130 years, with Everton relocating to Bramley-Moore dock next season. But the fixture was postponed at 8.30am on Saturday because of the impact of Storm Darragh.